The national highway that connects the municipality of San Vicente del Caguán (Caquetá) with the city of Neiva, capital of Huila, was closed for a full week. The heavy rains that have occurred in recent days have caused multiple landslides in several sectors of this highway, which crosses the El Pato-Balsillas peasant reserve area.
The peasant communities, who live along this road axis in populated centers and inspections such as Los Andes, Guayabal and Balsillas, have been affected by this closure.
This was announced by Javier Guependo, representative of the Colonos del Pato-Amcop Municipal Association, who stated that for 8 days they have been calling on the National Highway Institute (Invías) to attend to the emergency, but they have not obtained any response. .
“We are crying out, asking, begging the national Invías, the territorial Caquetá or Huila to be present with machinery to help us get out of this emergency. Today approximately 20 large landslides fell between the Miravalle sector and the La Rovira village, we are totally cut off from communication,” said the peasant leader.
Read also: A poet at the ‘Vaivén del Chinchorro’ in Mesetas, Meta
Likewise, he indicated that several vehicles from transport companies were left in the middle of the landslides. “There are cars and trucks from different companies that have been left in the middle of the landslides with passengers.”
Added to this emergency is the damming of food produced in the area, according to Wilber Trujillo, a peasant resident of the Guayabal inspection.
“They have called on us in the communities to go out with shovels and chainsaws to help uncover, but the collapses are very large, it is necessary to uncover quickly because the products are damaged for the people, they cannot remove the milk.”
The resident of this area of San Vicente del Caguán announced that the Government of Caquetá has not been present either and the only machine that is coping with this emergency is a charger from the Amcop association, but with the number of landslides it is not possible. can achieve the objective of unclogging the road.
This call was joined by the San Vicente deputy Wilman Fierro, who has been denouncing the serious situation in the north of Caquetá due to the winter wave, which has left several rural sectors incommunicado.
“The situation in San Vicente del Caguán is worrying. Our farmers cannot sell their products nor can the children go to school,” said Fierro.
