The Babeldaob Compact Road should be cleared and maintained at all times
Those who have had occasions to visit the many different villages on Babeldaob recently in connection with personal, clan or other customary functions should have realized and impressed with the amount of work needed to clear and maintain the 53-miles Compact Road on that island. That task, because of its complexity, should rest with the Executive and the Legislative branches of the National Government of Palau.
If left untouched most of the asphalt paved segments of the Compact Road, if not all, could be overtaken and covered by the fast-growing grasses and wild weeds that thrive on most sides of the Compact Road. This actually happened many months ago, which we reported in this column. But, with encouragement from the National Government, the Governors of Babeldaob took matters into their hands and began clearing and cleaning the Compact Road and today most segments of the 53-miles road are sporting cleaner, refreshing looks.
The National Government should enter into a contract with the Governors of Babeldaob or with private organizations so that appropriate people would be given the task of clearing and maintaining the Compact Road at regular intervals. Such arrangements would provide much needed employments for many local people, something all the communities on Babeldaob sorely need, and would give the people on Babeldaob pride in the responsibility of working for the improvements of their own communities. The contract should provide sufficient budgets for fuel and for the purchase and repair of equipment that would be needed on the project.
The mud-slide problems that have occurred and are still occurring at different sections of the Compact Road should best be dealt with separately from the normal clearing and cleaning duties the Babeldaob Governors and their people would be performing. The clearing and repairs of these mudslides may require expertise and sophisticated equipment, which the governors may not be able to provide. The National Government of Palau, with the help of the US Department of the Interior, should consult and ask the US Army Corps of Engineers, which designed and built the Compact Road, to provide the best solutions, including making available needed equipments and skilled workers to repair these mud-slides
Meanwhile, we would like to give some advice to those who get into some accident on the Compact Road. Don’t let yourself get chilled while waiting for help If it rains, stay in your vehicle and keep yourself warm and dry until help arrives. Make sure the other people with you, particularly young children and the elderly, do the same while you’re waiting for help to arrive.
If there’s no vehicle or anything that you could find shelter in and it appears that it would rain soon and darkness is approaching, the best thing to do is to begin walking briskly toward the nearest settlement where you could ask for assistance. On a rainy afternoon or on a cold night a brisk walk would prevent you and everyone else with you, from being chilled to the bones. A brisk walk would also bring you faster to whatever assistance might be available in the vicinity. You could also do what is called the “Rurtubak” or “Old-man’s run” to achieve the same objective. So don’t sulk and curse your bad luck while being chilled to the bones. Get up and walk or do the “Rurtubak” to save yourself from getting hypothermia .
