[Photo: Peceli Naviticoko]

Residents of Vunika in Labasa are raising serious safety concerns over abandoned road construction work, which they say has left unstable ground, blocked drainage, and damaged homes.

They fear the situation could worsen during heavy rain and are calling on the Ministry of Housing to urgently intervene.

The road upgrade was intended to improve the new Vunika housing subdivision, but residents say the unfinished work has created growing safety risks.

For Shainaz Begum, erosion has moved dangerously close to her home, forcing her family to spend five hundred dollars on emergency protection to save their property.

“The house is about to fall and we have used five hundred dollars to bring the tyres, the digger and the labourers to save our house. This is an incomplete road. If they are doing the job, they should complete it properly, not leave and run away, because the people are suffering here. If it rains, the road will be destroyed. There is no drainage; everything.”

Another resident, Samson Jeet, is calling for immediate temporary drainage while arrangements are made to finish the project.

He is also concerned about an exposed EFL power pole, which he says could fall following deep excavation work.

“If the government can look into that and if they can put a drain all over this place, just a temporary drain while they are sorting out things. And the EFL post here- can you see that EFL post? It’s about to fall. They have dug so deep and it’s about to fall and if it’s going to fall in that house, there will be dying, people dying.”

Residents are now demanding urgent safety measures and a clear timeline for when construction will resume and be completed.

FBC News has sent questions to the Minister for Housing and is awaiting a response.