Busy on the hill despite order to stop

Ravaged land: An aerial view of the bald hillslope in Teluk Bahang.

GEORGE TOWN: Up in the hill near the Teluk Bahang dam, an excavator is at work. Two pick-up trucks carrying about seven people enter the barricaded area. There is work going on there.

But there is not supposed to be any work going on at the site.

The Penang Island City Council had issued a stop work order after The Star ran an exclusive report on May 1 on the hill clearing and quarrying activities.

It was later confirmed that the land was cleared without approval from the council. The lowest point of the clearing is 23m above sea level and the highest is 103m up.

When a drone was flown over the site, the excavator and two pick-up trucks were seen parked next to each other.

Council engineering department deputy director A. Rajendran, when told about the activity, immediately sent his team to check the site.

When contacted later, he said earthworks were not being done.

“We found out that the workers were using the machinery to cut the granite into blocks. The machinery has been there for a long time.

“We will check with the Land and Mines Office on whether they have been issued a permit to undertake quarrying activities,” he added.

Rajendran said the council had not received any application by the landowner to do earthworks.

Meanwhile, villagers said lorries no longer ply the dusty village road.

“There is no more transportation of quarry dust or granite blocks. But some vehicles still enter the site,” said a villager.

When The Star first visited the site, angry workers scolded the team and chased them away. An angry supervisor even tried to pelt the drone.

The Star also revisited the hill­slope clearing on Penang Hill in Paya Terubong near the famous Cheng Kon Sze Temple and reported the story on April 23.

The ugly bald patch, which could be seen far from Jalan Paya Teru­bong below, is no longer obvious and is covered by greenery. The ugly patches can only be seen through aerial pictures now.

When the reporter went up to the site, three Bangladeshi workers were working there.

The house that was undergoing construction in April has been left uncompleted.

One of the workers, Mohamad Kamal, said construction work was stopped about four months ago on the instruction of their boss following a visit by council officers.

“We are just planting flowers now,” he said, pointing to some red flowering plants.