Residents thankful for Sg Kerian flood project
BAGAN SERAI: People affected by floods, especially those living in the northern part of the state and near the borders of Penang and Kedah, can heave a sigh of relief due to the Sungai Kerian Flood Mitigation Project.
The RM490 million Federal Government project was carried out by the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) in the Sungai Kerian basin, with a total area of 1,621sq km covering Perak, Kedah and Penang, since the river flows through the three states.
Perak received an allocation of RM340 million while Kedah and Penang received RM80 million and RM70 million.
In Perak, the project was completed last year and eased flooding, especially in Kerian and Larut, Matang and Selama.
The border areas, which are Nibong Tebal (Penang) and Bandar Baharu (Kedah) benefited from the project.
Perak DID director Dr Ahmad Anuar Othman said the construction of bunds with multiple protection levels in Sungai Kerian and Sungai Kurau had reduced floods.
He said the Bukit Merah pool upgrading in Kerian, which was included in the project, could improve the reservoir capacity and act as a buffer for flood management.
“The Kerian project has minimised the number of flood incidents, especially those due to overflow of the river.
“In Kerian, issues relating to flooding have dropped by more than 75 per cent,” he told the New Straits Times Press.
Anuar said 30,000 out of the 163,073 residents of Kerian faced floods annually.
This, he said, covered a 3,500ha area, which was 37 per cent of the district.
Among the villages that benefited by the project were Changkat Lobak, Matang Tengah, Matang Pasir in Beriah; while in Alor Pongsu, the villages were Parit Simpang 5, Batu 38, Batu 40, Abu Hassan Ban, Parit Air Hitam, Parit Simpang 4 and Kampung Perlis.
“Previous floods brought destruction and damage to property, electricity supply, and raw water, as well as 30 per cent of rice and oil palm plantations,” he said.
Radzuan Ahmad, 55, from Kampung Matang Beriah in Alor Pongsu said the effectiveness of the Kerian project was proven as there were fewer cases of flooding.
“At the beginning of the construction, there were people who were unsure of the project’s effectiveness.
“But now, it is clear that the Kerian project can resolve the flood issues that have often haunted people,” he said, adding that the worst flood, which hit Beriah and Alor Pongsu, was in 2003.
Kampung Parit Simpang Lima village chief Abdul Rahim Abdul Wahab, 62, said villagers had nothing but praise for the Kerian project.
“Previously, when it was the rainy season every December, we would worry.
“Now, since the government implemented the Kerian project, there have been no floods.
“Before it, people were afraid to build single-storey homes, but now they are no longer worried.”