Special school beset by rodent and snake infestation

Active loading and unloading at the recycling centre takes place from early morning up to 10am and all day on weekends.

THE rat menace is not confined to restaurants and stalls.

A centre offering special needs education in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur is at its wits’ end, not knowing how to overcome the rat infestation and unwanted visits from creepy-crawlies into its premises.

The management of The Selangor and Federal Territory Association for the Mentally Handicapped (SAMH) school at Wisma Harapan have been writing to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to complain about the problems caused by the rubbish heap and recycling centre next to its premises since 2010, but nothing much has been done.

Its manager V. Krishnaveni said a waste dumping area behind the building and recycling centre operating from the side lane for the past eight years were the main reasons for the rodent problem.

“Every time we complain to DBKL, cleaning contractors will be sent to clean up the area but it is back to its usual dirty state in a few days. There was never a permanent solution.

 

Rats can be seen roaming freely on the fences at Wisma Harapan even during the day.

 

“There are bins placed at the waste dumping area but they are not well managed. The bins are always open, often overflowing and rubbish strewn on the ground. It attracts pests.

“The piles of recyclables from the roadside recycling centre such as cardboard boxes and scrap metal are stacked on top of each other, creating more places for rats to breed in.

“The recycling centre operates from early morning until about 10am during weekdays and all day long on weekends.

“Many lorries can be seen moving in and out of the lane, which also adds to noise pollution,” she said.

Krishnaveni said the sight and smell of their back and side lanes were so bad that they had put up a black net on their walls and fences in 2016 to block the outside view.

“However, the rats started breeding inside the nets and made holes in the walls too. Realising this, we removed the nets two months ago. Now the rats are roaming everywhere, as they have lost a place to hide.

“To make matters worse, we have caught three snakes in our schools since December last year. We never had such problems before.

 

This python was caught in May.

 

“We installed wire mesh to cover the holes in the drains to prevent snakes from coming into our compound but the snakes can still enter through our service pipes.

“We wanted to build a 3m-high wall to block off the back and side lanes, but the cost was estimated at RM120,000. Due to lack of funds, we have plastered the walls as a temporary measure,” she said.

Former SAMH exco member and also parent of a student at Wisma Harapan, Dharshini Ganesan said the management and parents are worried over the safety of the students and staff.

“We no longer let the children play in the outdoor open space for fear of snakes.

“We teach children with many different disabilities here, some as young as three years old. Some may not know the danger of snakes, so we cannot take the risk.

“The waiting area for parents and guardians face the back lane. The smell from the rubbish is unbearable sometimes and gets worse when it rains. The area is also used by some parents to feed their children during break time.

“We also prepare food in our kitchen. It is a great concern for us to cook here with a rat infestation just outside our back door,” she said.

Dharshini said with the rat infestation problem, they are worried about their upcoming fundraising fun fair on Aug 4.

“We are expecting at least 500 people and there will be a lot of food and drinks served at our premises.

Dharshini showing one of the complaints that was made to DBKL regarding the matter.

“SAMH were denied an annual government grant for our operations for two years now. The cost of running the three schools is more than RM2mil a year and the management is tasked to look for funds.

“The school needs to portray a good image to get donors and corporate sponsors to fund its operations.

“Wisma Harapan has 150 students and the fees are three times lower than our operational cost. We also have poor students who are studying for free.

“SAMH is already struggling financially to manage the schools and cannot afford lawsuits in case any mishap happens on the school ground,” she said.

Dharshini hopes DBKL will act swiftly to relocate the dumping ground and shut the recycling centre for good.

“Wisma Harapan, as well as the surrounding building which include schools, places of worship, restaurants and houses are affected by the rodent problem,” she said.

Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) Federal Territories deputy director Mohd Zahir Shaari said the rubbish bins behind the school was misused.

The management of Wisma Harapan put up blacks neta to cover the ugly sight of the dumpsite but it was removed when they discovered that it had become a rat breeding ground.

“It is meant for domestic waste from the businesses and residents in the surrounding area but is being misused by other parties carrying out businesses without approval from the authorities.

“We are aware of the problem and have issued three notices to the recycling centre operating near the school in the past with the last notice issued late last year.

“With each notice issued, we confiscated all their trading items and dismantled temporary structures used for their business. However, they would resume operations after a couple of weeks.

“I have contacted DBKL’s enforcement department and will arrange for a joint operation at the site soon.

“We also need to engage the surrounding businesses and residents to educate them on proper use of the waste dumping area,” he said.

DBKL socioeconomic development executive director Datuk Ibrahim Yusoff said they would work with SWCorp to resolve the rodent problem and inspect the recycling centre soon.