Villagers want flood mitigation scheme up and running

KOTA KINABALU: Fed upwith flooding woes each year, villagers in the east coast Lahad Datu district want a flood mitigation scheme at a nearby river to be completed soon.

Their state assemblyman Datuk Nasrun Datu Mansor hopes that the “straightening and deepening of Sungai Sapagaya will begin this year”.

He said the project could avert the flooding of Kampung Sapagaya, some 6km from Lahad Datu town.

Water about 1m-high had submerged the village on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of around 1,000 villagers.

Nasrun, the assistant minister to the chief minister, said most of the evacuees had been housed at the Lahad Datu community hall.

The Rm120mil flood mitigation project began in 2004 with works on Sungai Pancuran and Sungai Tabarau. Only when this is completed can work on Sungai Sapagaya begin.

”The villagers would be relieved if the scheme could be completed soon,” said Nasrun.

Meanwhile, checks with district officials showed that the flood waters at Kampung Sapagaya had receded early yesterday and most of the villagers had returned home.