Taman Mesra residents unhappy retention pond not part of flood mitigation plans

Floods are a common occurrence in Taman Mesra.

NEWS that a proposed retention pond near Taman Mesra U1, Shah Alam, will not be built has taken residents by surprise.

They were under the impression that a retention pond would be built this year in an empty plot of land opposite their neighbourhood, which has been battling floods for more than two decades.

Taman Mesra Batu Tiga Residents’ Association secretary Gurunathan Arumugam said when news of the flood mitigation plans were reported by the media, residents had breathed a sigh of relief.

“We assumed that one of the two ponds mentioned in the news reports would be for us, but now we hear otherwise,” he said.

StarMetro recently reported that the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) will spend RM10mil to put together a three-component mitigation plan for Seksyen 13 and U1.

The components include placement of seven pumps in low-lying areas including Section 13 and U1, upgrading of the current water retention pond in Section 13 and the building of two new ponds in the Shah Alam Stadium carpark.

Gurunathan said residents were initially informed about a pond for Taman Mesra sometime in May this year, during a special briefing by MBSA as well as Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi.

“The pond is essential for us especially since the floods are a common occurrence here. We thought the matter was settled when we were informed about the pond in that empty land,” he added.

The empty plot of land, said Gurunathan, belonged to MBSA and was initially slated to be a bus stand but the plans were scrapped a few years ago.

The floods, he said, were a backflow from the smaller drains around U1 as well as the nearby Sungai Damansara.

“Each time it rains and the river burst its banks, the water first floods the main Jalan Batu Tiga Lama and spreads to a privately owned empty plot of land behind Taman Mesra before flooding our housing area.’’

He claimed that the housing development did not have a proper drainage system and when residents checked with the authorities in the late 1990s, they were told that there was no approval for drains.

The worst flood they experienced was in 2006 with all 100 houses submerged.

“After that flood, MBSA built a pumphouse with three pumps and that later increased to seven but the problem still persisted,” he added.

The floods these days only affect the low-lying houses while the houses near the entrance to the neighbourhood are on safer ground.

“The neighbourhood has been around for more than 25 years, with many Malaysians, including airline crew members renting and purchasing houses in the beginning. Today, almost 70% are foreigners.

“Malaysians have either sold their properties, relocated or rented out their houses to foreign workers because of the constant floods.

“Now with this news, I am sure the last few local owners will sell their houses and move out,” said Gurunathan.

His son, Prabu said students also suffered because their school and college assignments were damaged by floodwaters.

“During the recent flood, I lost my internship log book. I had to redo six months of reports in order to graduate and get my certificate from the university,” he said.

Another resident, Nazri Mat Tamin said he was disappointed with MBSA’s decision, especially after numerous promises to resolve the problem.

He said residents were unable to leave their houses during the monsoon season for fear of flashfloods.

“MBSA must help us, they need to think of our difficulties. We pay assessment to them and yet we have to keep suffering losses from flood damage,” he lamented.

MBSA confirmed to StarMetro that it only had plans to upgrade the existing pumps while the two ponds would be built near the Shah Alam Stadium.