Drains silted up and choked with rubbish

Ho showing the silt and wild grass that block the flow of water in the monsoon drain at the end of Jalan 10/3 in Section 10, Petaling Jaya.

DESILTING and removing rubbish from drains to ensure run-off water flows without stagnating is one of the basic task for private contractors hired by the local council.

Yet, cleanliness of drains is a major problem everywhere and this is because of shoddy work.

Residents’ associations (RAs) and individuals are fed up with the lackadaisical attitude of local councils.

Former Taman Petaling South Klang RA chairman P.V. John said the schedule for cleaning the drains was unpredictable.

“In fact, we should not be calling up to complain about the choked, silt-filled drains as there is a weekly schedule and workers hired to do the job must get it done like clock-work.

Taman Bayu Perdana‘s monsoon drain at the bend of Jalan Setaka Indah has not been desilted since August last year.

 

“Once the RAs question the councillors in charge of the neighbourhoods, it becomes so fraught with political tension that it infuriates the people living in the area,” he said.

John added that the complaints were valid as the Kota Alam Shah residents were worried because the rainy season would start in October and go on until November.

Both months have the highest rain fall.

“Some parts of Taman Petaling are classified as deluge-prone areas by the Klang Disaster Management Unit as they witnessed floods last year and are feared to experience another if Klang Municipal Council (MPK) continues to shirk its responsibilities.

“Our neighbourhood drains are silted to 15cm while the two main monsoon drain culverts known as Parit Lebuh Turi, bordering Taman Chi Liung and the old part of Palm Grove at Persiaran Seraya, are partially blocked with mud,” he said.

John showing the silt he scooped out from the drain in Taman Petaling, Klang

 

He added that the RA had suggested to MPK that a retention pond be built but it fell on deaf ears.

Taman Bayu Perdana Residents Association (TBPRA) vice-chairman G. Mohan said failure to desilt and maintain cleanliness of the monsoon and neighbourhood drains was a perennial problem.

“Our residents are frustrated that the drains are not clean according to the schedule.

“The committee urged MPK to desilt the monsoon drain off Jalan Pegaga and Jalan Setaka Indah in August last year, just before the floods, but until now it has not been done,” he said, adding that floodwaters entered homes in September last year.

Committee member Wong Chee Meng, 49, said MPK failed to maintain drains along Padang 3 at Jalan Batu Unjur 3 and Padang 5 at Jalan Batu Unjur 5 that were filled with dried leaves.

The monsoon drain parallel to Persiaran Seraya in Taman Petaling is evidently not maintained.

 

Petaling Jaya, Section 10 Residents Association (S10RA) president Ronald Danker said there is an urgent need to clean up the drain stretch at the end of Jalan 10/8 until the monsoon drain parallel to the Federal Highway.

He claimed that contractors cleaning drains in Taman Jaya and Section 10 locked horns over the issue of who should clean the border drain and this has been going on for some time.

“For months, no contractor has gone down to clean the drain,” he added.

Using a drain scooper, resident Raymond Ho said the silt depth stood at 27cm and at the drain culverts silt, mud and dried branches blocked the flow of water.

S10RA treasurer Elena Fernandez, who lives in Jalan 10/8, said the stench from the heavily silted drain had caused an increase in mosquitoes as there was a backflow of water when it rained.

Mogan uses a drain scooper to show the silt accumulated in a drain at Jalan 25/50, Section 25, Taman Sri Muda.

 

Danker questioned whether the contractors did their work according to Petaling Jaya City Council’s standard operating procedure approved at the full board meeting or whether it was the failure of the area supervisor.

Taman Sri Muda 2 Residents Association chairman T. Mogan said the monsoon drain flowing along the boundaries of Masjid Taman Sri Muda in Jalan Abadi 25/58, towards low-rise apartments where the drain overflows during heavy rains, was filled with silt.

He said former Shah Alam mayor Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan in mid-2014 had ordered the monsoon drain to be desilted as an immediate measure.

“But until today nothing has been done. Silt has accumulated by at least one metre in depth,” he said.

Wong scooping out dried leaves from drains around Padang 5 in Jalan Batu Unjur 5, Klang.

 

Mogan said drains in Jalan 25/36, 25/43, 25/28 and 25/31 were not cleaned and come October, it could cause flash floods.

Resident Rashidah Ahmat, 65, said the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) had failed to clean up the mud-filled drains in Jalan 25/50 where a 61-year-old woman and her 21-year-old daughter came down with dengue this week.

“For years we asked MBSA to clean the drains in the vicinity of Jalan 25/50 but it was not done,” she said, adding that it was high time the matter be related to the mentri besar.

The silt-filled monsoon drain flowing along the boundaries of Masjid Taman Sri Muda in Jalan Abadi 25/58, Shah Alam, towards low-rise apartments.