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Mayor’s office preps for Friday trek
The Saipan Mayor’s Office is busy cleaning up Mt. Tapochau for the annual pilgrimage up the mountain this Good Friday.
Mayor David M. Apatang mobilized his crew to clear debris and cut overgrown vegetation along the pathway.
“We started preparing last week and continue all the way until tomorrow. Still picking up debris,” said Joann Aquino, field operations director.
Aquino said the road has already been cleared and is now passable for trekkers hiking up.
“We are doing bush cutting and plans to continue to pick up tomorrow. Everyday we have a total of five to seven staff because some are still assigned in other places and still picking up debris in Kagman from Tropical Storm Bavi, including Chalan Kanoa. Currently the other crew is in San Antonio,” Aquino said.
“These last past weeks is all debris and that is all we’re doing. We did clear a fallen tree in Mt. Tapochau but the route going up is all overgrown vegetation so we cleared the parking area at the bottom and it is usable now. As of now we’re still clearing all the overgrown vegetation and will continue tomorrow,” she added.
In related news, Apatang continues with efforts to beautify and clean up Saipan villages.
Aquino said they still get a lot of calls everyday and majority of the requests are about debris removal attributed by the storm.
“We’re trying to respond to as much request as we can regarding debris removal but we’re short of manpower and some equipment but we are doing our best to make do with the resources available. So everyday we try to accommodate the request and the priority is the Mt. Tapochau trek,” she said.
