Better accommodation sought for landslide victims
THE four families in Section U11, Bukit Bandaraya, Shah Alam who have been told to vacate their homes following a landslide in the area last week, are seeking better temporary lodging from the developer.
Owner of the corner lot house closest to the incident, P. Vijayakumari, said the house they were offered lacked basic furnishings like curtains, fans, cupboards and stove.
During Starmetro’s visit to the site on Sunday, Vijayakumari was taking some of her belongings. The 39year-old said because of that, she and her family had been putting up at her sister’s home for the past week.
“It is a decent house nearby, but it is brand new with nothing in it, no fans, cupboards or stove,
“If we move in we have to get everything fixed, just like moving into a brand new home,” she said, adding that none of her affected neighbours had taken up the offer.
To make matters worse, she said the school driver that picks her daughter up does not intend to drive by the temporary home as it is off of his usual route.
“It is very difficult for us to move out and have to start arranging the temporary home like a new home besides reorganising everything else,” said Vijayakumari who had taken a week’s leave from work after the incident.
She said that when the Feb 14 landslide occurred at 5.30pm, only her mother and sister were at home.
“It was scary and they thought it was an earthquake because of the loud noise,” she said. She added that her sister told her about the situation over the phone while she was at work.
When she saw the mess that came with the landslide, Vijayakumari who has been living in the neighbourhood since 2007, said she was thankful that her house did not suffer any damage from the incident.
“We are now negotiating with the developer (Lebar Daun Bhd) to see if they can provide us with a better choice of home, one that is furnished,” she said, adding that she and her husband did not mind if it was a show unit or a serviced apartment.
Bukit Bandaraya Residents Association secretary Ashraf Othman, who was also at the site, said he had met Lebar Daun director Noorazhar Mohamed Nurdin to clarify the situation and also to find out the developer’s solution to the incident.
“He told me that a geotechnical specialist will be coming over to conduct a study on the hillslope and then only will they be able to find out the problem and ways to strengthen the hill. He also promised to get it done within a week’s time,” said Ashraf.
Ashraf added that the residents hope the developer would fulfil its promise and solve the issue promptly as it is also the rainy season now.
“If the developer fails to rectify the issue we will have no choice but to take legal action,” he said.
Ashraf said, a few years back, residents had held a dialogue session with both the developer and MBSA about the danger of the hill as it did not look safe.
“We have always been asking them about it, from the day we bought our house till the day we received our keys,” said Ashraf, who feels the incident could have been prevented if action had been taken earlier.
He said initially, the hill was not supposed to be there as residents were informed that it would be a children’s playground. However, the plan changed after the developer was said to have found a gas pipe nearby, leading them to scrap their original plan.
When contacted, MBSA corporate communications deputy director Shahrin Ahmad, said the council was also awaiting the report from the consultant appointed by the developer.
Shahrin said, as a short-term measure, the developer had put up plastic sheets to cover the affected area and concrete blocks to prevent soil and rocks from falling onto the homes nearby.
“The police are also here on duty around the clock to keep the homes safe, especially for residents who had moved out,” he said, adding that Shah Alam mayor Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan had also visited the site twice and had been briefed of the situation.