Tough task to clear earth-clogged Penang Hill railway track
GEORGE TOWN: With no road access, the tonnes of earth that fell onto the Penang Hill funicular railway track are being cleared with just wheelbarrows.
Penang Hill Corporation general manager L.L. Cheok said yesterday that the going was slow because no heavy machinery could be used.
“There are no roads by the side of the railway line, so we are clearing the earth with shovels and wheelbarrows. We are grateful that the hill’s residents are helping us.”
He said that when the storm was raging on Nov 4 and 5, residents reported whirlwind-like conditions, with many trees getting uprooted and causing 28 landslides on the hill.
The winds were much stronger there than on the plains, he added.
More landslides occurred on Sunday when heavy rain lashed the hill and blocked the jeep track there again.
“We have cleared a path for one vehicle to pass and this has allowed us to bring more experts to the hilltop to study the situation.
“But Penang Hill is still a ‘red zone’ and unsafe. On top of that risk, our team must deal with hikers who still want to use the jeep track and get in the way of the bulldozers and lorries at work,” Cheok said.
He urged hikers to refrain from going up the hill until all the trails were declared safe.
On the situation at the hilltop, Cheok said one landslide badly affected the Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan temple, exposing part of its foundation.
“But the temple itself is stable and we are covering the exposed area to prevent further erosion.
As long as nothing aggravates the damage, it is safe,” he added.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that some eagles got in the way of a drone reconnaissance of the areas where the landslides occurred.
A team from the Selangor government volunteered to fly its drone to get detailed pictures last week, but the large population of eagles near the hill posed a problem.
“Eagles have been known to attack drones and will even bring the machines back to their nests.
“They fly faster than drones, so there is no way we can out-fly them,” said a source familiar with the visiting team.
“The eagles did not attack the drone, but they were visibly both- ered by its presence. The team did manage to get a few pictures, however.”
Malaysian Nature Society Penang adviser Kanda Kumar said the eagles are probably brahminy kites.
“White-bellied sea eagles and crested serpent eagles fly around Penang Hill. But the kites nest there and they probably saw the drone as a threat to their airspace,” said Kanda, who has been bird-watching for 50 years.
A Penang Island City Council source said it had its own drone and was acquiring another, but there is much aerial photography to be done of the storm-affected areas, so the team from Selangor came to help.