Villagers cry out for clean water – Rep
MIRI: Villagers at Sungai Arang A and B longhouses in Bakong are crying out for clean water from the Sarawak government.
They said despite the water treatment plant that had been in operation four years ago, their taps were dry.
This is especially so for Sungai Arang A, where they do not receive water from the treatment plant at all.
For residents of Sungai Arang B longhouse, they are more fortunate as they can get water from their water taps for three hours when the generatorpowered treatment plant is on for three hours.
Their plea was conveyed to Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon when he visited both longhouses and the water treatment plant yesterday.
The total number of household units in both longhouses is 61.“What I want to highlight today is that the water treatment plant in Sungai Arang Bakong has been there for four years and it was installed by the Sarawak government but does not benefit the longhouses as the clean water supply can’t reach all the 61 doors,” Dr Ting said at a press conference following the visit.
Present were DAP Miri youth chief Peter Hii and Sungai Arang A Tuai Rumah Sayun Galan.
Dr Ting further said that the distribution pipes were installed at Sungai Arang B longhouse in 2014 and Sungai Arang A longhouse was connected to the water treatment plant in 2016 before the state election.
He stressed that what made him sad was that both longhouses had electricity supply but the water treatment plant was powered by a generator set for only three hours, which is hardly sufficient time to filter and process the raw water from Bakong river and to supply all the 61 household units in the two longhouses.
He wondered why the water treatment plant was not connected to the electricity grid so that the plant could supply water throughout the day and night.
On the other hand, he said the 29- door Sungai Arang A longhouse was not given the blue plastic water tanks to store rain water for their daily use while the 32- door Sungai Arang B had the water tanks provided by the Sarawak government.
He opined that this could be due to political disputes between two camps of the ruling state coalition before the 2016 state election.
“I am calling on the state government to give Sungai Arang A longhouse the plastic water tanks and also to connect the water treatment plant to the electricity grid to ensure that the villagers get constant clean water supply,” he said.
On another development, Dr Ting was surprised why a bridge at Sungai Arang built under the Jiwa Murni project had only one lane as its foundation was meant for dual carriage.