Lily Pond shelter stripped of its roofing
KAPIT: The shelter by the side of Panau Danau or Lily Pond on the opposite side of Dewan Suarah Kapit along Jalan Memora here has become an eye sore with only the iron frame left after its roofing was ripped off.
The umbrella-shaped shelter with a transparent plastic roof used to shelter passers-by from the rain and sun while they take a short rest. Now it looks abandoned.
A parent of two students at SMK Kapit recalled that he used to pick up children at this site rather than drive to the school gate as the road is narrow and crowded. Now he has to pick them at the school gate as the shelter is in a deplorable state.
He hoped the authority would look to restore the structure as a place of rest for patients walking to Kapit Hospital or students at SK Methodist and SMK Kapit at the end of Jalan Memora. He was puzzled as to why the local authority did nothing after the contractor removed the shabby transparent plastic roofing many months ago.
It is located in the heart of Kapit Bazaar between Jalan Penghulu Nyanggau and Jalan Memora. Giatmara youth skill training centre is on one side while the civic centre on the other side. Nearby are Kapit Hospital, Kedai Telekom Bhd and Kapit Police Headquarters.
Once upon a time, Lily Pond, better known as ‘Panau Danau’, was an icon of Kapit for its beautiful landscape of green slope and clear water. Today, facilities erected in the pond for recreational purposes are falling apart. Neglected by Kapit District Council, the once majestic structures are rotting, the water became stagnant due to lack of drainage and the area got overgrown with bushes.
During its glory days, prior to independence before 1963, it was bigger, covering some three acres of land. The lake had crystal clear water with many varieties of fishes and water lilies, fresh air, birds like kingfishers and eagles flying low to feed on the fishes. In the middle of ‘Panau Danau’ was a small island that looks like a turtle.
At that time, it was used as a swimming pool where children and youths accompanied by their parents learn to swim and bath in the evening.
In the 1980s, with funding from the Local Government, Kapit District Council earmarked an ambitious landscaping project to give a facelift to Panau Danau namely to erect a concrete retention wall along the bank of Jalan Memora, a concert structure, two canteens, wooden walkway and shelter with lighting facilities. It was gazetted as a recreational park.
Panau Danau was a must visit for locals and travellers to Kapit. After a hard day’s work, workers would relax here with their families. Visitors also came to snap pictures.
But it lost its lustre some 10 years ago. The icon turned into an eyesore from neglect. Passersby would cover their noses and hurry past to avoid the stench and rubbish strewn about the place, the once clean water had turned greenish from the presence of algae. Gone were the fish and lilies.
The site became mosquitoinfested and Kapit Health Department labelled it hazardous due to the presence of rat urine.
When a dengue outbreak occurred here in May this year, one of the sites identified was Panau Danau.