Residents of Vunidakua Settlement along upper Cunningham Road say they were not advised of any water disruptions from yesterday nor this morning, as they lined the main road in anticipation of water carting services to reach them.
Thousands of residents in the densely-populated area of Cunningham, including Rokosawa Place and upper Cunningham Rd, were without water from the morning until after midday when Fiji Times Online visited them to conduct an interview.
Resident Cama Gonevale said they had been without water from 7am, and had used water stored from last night to prepare breakfast for today.
He said it had gone past lunch time and they were unable to cook as a result.
Speaking in the iTaukei dialect, Mr Gonevale said while it was fortunate this did not happen on a week day to disrupt preparations for students and working family members, it did not rule out the fact that water is a necessity.
He said it was important for members of the public to be advised in a timely manner to allow them to prepare accordingly.
He said what he saw was a small water truck had come to the area three times but returned twice from the same location – some 200m away from their settlement – and they were still waiting for the same carting truck to return at the time of the interview.
This afternoon, the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) issued a statement advising residents of a burst main that occurred in front of the Twomey Hospital along the Princes Road as the cause of water supply disruptions.
It had said that teams were on the ground working round the clock to restore supply.
The affected areas it stated included:
- Tamavua Village
- Princes Road
- Navurevure Road
- Latter-day Saints College (LDS)
- Wailoku Road
- Naranji Street
- Fiji National University – College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences (CMNHS)
- Upper Cunningham
- Tacirua (5 miles) and
- Upper Ragg Avenue.