The road between Nairobi and Madogo has now been opened to traffic after the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) rehabilitated three sections of the highway that had been washed away by raging floods.
The opening of the road section that is part of the Nairobi-Garissa highway, which is the entry to Garissa and the North Eastern region, is a huge relief for Madogo residents, who were staring at an acute shortage of food supplies and other essential commodities in the area.
Garissa town residents, however, will have to wait longer as the section between Madogo and Garissa remains closed after it was damaged by the floods, rendering the section impassable.
According to KeNHA, the vehicles at km 41, ‘Arer’ A3 Bangale-Madogo, started passing at 7.30 p.m. Monday evening.
Prices of commodities that had started going up may reduce in the coming days because of the partial opening of the Nairobi-Madogo highway.
A spot check by KNA Monday revealed that the prices of essential commodities had more than doubled, with a kilo of sugar now retailing at Sh 500 up from Sh 200, 2 kg of maize flour at Sh 600 from Sh 240, and a carton of milk at Sh 1,000 from Sh 450.
Meanwhile, fuel in Garissa and Madogo towns are running dangerously low as some petrol stations have depleted their stocks.
Elsewhere, hundreds of public servants who reside in Madogo, Tana River County, and work in Garissa town and its environs did not report for duty for the second day running after KeNHA closed the Madogo-Garissa road.
By Jacob Songok
