Do something about flood-prone land at Jalan Moyan, PKR man urges Dr Sim
KUCHING: Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian has been urged to quickly solve the drainage problem on a piece of land at Jalan Moyan in his Batu Kawah constituency.
PKR Stampin branch deputy youth chief Jeffery Mok in making the call, said there used to be a natural stream f lowing through that particular piece of land.
Mok, who is also a personal assistant to Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How, however said the owner of the land had filled up the natural stream to maximise the usage of his land.
“The landowner dug a drain to change the course of the water flow. The drain is built presumably on state land as it sits just by the roadside and there is an electric pole in the drain. No approval is given to the landowner to do what he did,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
Mok said the size of the newlydug drain was not enough to accommodate the capacity of water and had always flooded the whole road whenever it rained heavily and during the rainy season.
Mok also said the road was very dangerous for motorists as they might be driving themselves into the drain when the road was flooded.
“No retention walls are built along the drain and soil erosion is likely to damage the road in the future.”
Mok said Dr Sim knew about the problem when he personally went to the site in July this year but until today, nothing had been done to rectify the situation.
“It is vital that Dr Sim places this as his priority as it now rains almost everyday.
“Dr Sim should instruct the Drainage and Irrigation Department and State Planning Authority to issue a letter to the landowner concerned to restore the natural stream and refill the stretch of land that has been dug to divert the water flow.”
As an interim measure, Mok suggested that Padawan Municipal Council erected security barriers on the roadsides for the safety of road users.