Forest clearing works leave villagers with murky water
HULU LANGAT: Villagers living in Kampung Hulu Perdik, Selangor, have always relied on the streams around the area for their water supply.
According to them, these streams were a source of crystal clear water that they used for cooking, cleaning, bathing and drinking.
However, this idyllic situation is no more.
The water from the streams is now the colour of earth, believed to be due to forest clearing in the area.
Villager Sumardi Ermin said the water quality in the area had gone from bad to worse in the past two weeks.
“Villagers here have relied on water from the hills for about 60 years. We always had clear water, but now things have changed,” said Sumardi, who has lived here for the past two decades.
He believes the situation changed after the forest clearing works started because ever since then, the water would turn brownish every time it rained.
“Villagers need clean water, especially to cook. Now we have to find another source of clean water, so some villagers have started to dig wells,” he said.
The forest clearing works were done by contractors appointed by the Selangor Forestry Department to make way for the installation of an electricity transmission line.
Amir Ismail, another resident, said those in the area had no other water supply besides the streams.
“The streams that come down from the hills are our source of water and the water has always been clean.
“If the water is polluted, our lives turn haywire,” he said.
Terry Valentine, who has lived in the area for 18 years with his wife Yati, said the clearing works were not only threatening the water supply but also the wildlife.
“They are running through a siamang (gibbon) colony,” he said.
He wondered whether an environmental impact study had been conducted by the authorities before the forest clearing works began.
The residents of Hulu Langat shared their views with the media at a meeting attended by Selangor Forestry Department director Datuk Dr Mohd Puat Dahalan and representatives of Tenaga Nasional Berhad.
A check by The Star in the forest clearing area showed that a stream running from the hills, which would have flowed near the foot of the hills before, now stops midway at the logging area as a dirt road now stands in the middle of the stream’s path.
Dr Mohd Puat said a taskforce would be formed to address the issue.
“Looking at this situation, the department will form a taskforce made up of stakeholders, including representatives of the residents here,” he said.
The department, he added, took the residents’ plight seriously as it understood the importance of having a clean water supply.
He said the taskforce would look into the forest clearing works and whether the contractor was doing its work properly.
The department has also issued a stop-work directive to the contractor for two weeks from Sept 8.
The forest clearing works were 70% completed, Dr Mohd Puat said, adding that it was scheduled to be done by November.
If the water is polluted, our lives turn haywire. Amir Ismail