Dabong cut off from the country

In a quandary: The Dabong train service was the village’s only form of public transportation.

PETALING JAYA: The people living in Dabong, Kelantan, are asking for emergency bus services to start as soon as possible after rail links were cut off following last December’s catastrophic flooding in the east coast states.

The flood washed away stretches of the railway line and damaged nine train carriages which were parked at the Dabong station at the time.

However, the most devastating damage came in the form of a severely damaged railway bridge across Sungai Galas near Kemubu, where several concrete pillars were shifted by the raging torrent.

In a January estimate, KTMB put the flood damage cost at around RM250mil and said it would take nearly two years to fix.

Prior to the flood, there were 12 trips from the Dabong train station daily – six northwards to Tumpat, and another six south towards Gemas.

The suspension of train services has hit some Dabong residents hard as they rely on trains to get to the nearest town such as Kuala Krai (about 80km away by road), while some children used the train to go to school.

The road distances to other Kelantan towns such as Jeli and Gua Musang are approximately 54km and 70km respectively.

Villagers interviewed said it costs between RM80 and RM100 to rent a car to get to Kuala Krai or Jeli, while a typical 1.5 hour train journey to Kuala Krai would cost RM2.10.

“About 50 schoolchildren have transferred from Kuala Krai schools back here. They studied in Kuala Krai because they performed well in their public examinations and were offered places in largerschools there,” said Dabong Federal Village Development and Security Committee chairman Che Ramli Che Hassan.

“Now they have no choice, but to study in the village schools.”

Che Ramli argues that a public bus service is necessary as the villagers are “cut off from everything”.

“Even if it is only one service a day, it is better than our present situation.

“We have a nicely tarred road leading to the village ... all we need is a bus service,” he said, adding that not all villagers could afford to hire a car to town for errands, a reason why the Tumpat-Gua Musang train carriages were “always full”.

Other than the railway, Dabong’s population of about 3,500 were also badly hit by the flood.

Apart from the destruction to homes – 34 houses were completely destroyed while many more were damaged – the local economy was also not spared.

“We used to have five provision shops in the village, but three have not been able to resume business as the owners have no money to rebuild.

“With only two shops open, we have no choice but to go to nearby towns for supplies. But it costs a lot,” he said.