Man-made lake near Thai border dries up

GRIK: A 4ha lake near the Perak-Thai border has dried up, possibly becoming the first “lake casualty” of El Nino in the country.

Takong Lake, in the heart of Pengkalan Hulu, a rural town about 45km from here and 7km from the border, has only a rivulet of water remaining while the rest of the lake bed has become an expanse of mud-cracks.

This man-made lake is in the Takong Recreational Park, which is a local haunt of anglers, picnickers and tourists who rent paddle boats.

In January, Pengkalan Hulu assemblyman Aznel Ibrahim announced plans to create a floating market on the lake by August to match the one in Haadyai.

It is learnt that after the lake shrunk drastically, the local authority further drained it 10 days ago to let locals catch the fish in it.

A resident, who only identified himself as Rosli, said townfolk and Thai visitors came by the thousands and caught hundreds of kilos of freshwater fish like tilapia, carps, common snakeheads (haruan), catfish, jungle perches (sebarau) and freshwater prawns (udang galah) using nets, pails and even bare hands.

“We call it Pesta Gagau and the last time we did it was four years ago, when the lake had also dried up,” said Rosli.

In Kangar, the bed of the Timah Tasoh Dam is so parched that cows are grazing there.

A tarred village road that was submerged when the state’s only dam was completed in 1992 is now usable again. As of yesterday, the Perlis dam water level would only need to go down by 0.2m before a full blown crisis hits.

“The level is now 26.2m. When it hits 26m, we will alert the state government and Syarikat Air Perlis to start water rationing,” said state Drainage & Irrigation Department director Najib Abdullah yesterday.

He said plans were in motion to start water rationing in certain areas today, adding that Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man was expected to announce it.

The dam’s maximum level is 29.1m, and although it is still about 90% full now, the lake is so small its critical level is 25m.

When The Star visited the dam, motorcyclist Nor Hisham Jusof, 34, was spotted riding along the previously submerged road with a friend.

“Word that this road has resurfaced is spreading. So I rode out here to check it out. I’ll come back again to go fishing. In a drought, it’s easy to catch lake fish,” he said.