Batu MP P. Prabakaran (second from left) checking the drains in the area.
STAGNANT water in the drains in Taman Kaya, Kuala Lumpur, clogged by development on a private land in the area, is causing massive problems and would have to be pumped out as a temporary measure, says newly minted Batu MP, P. Prabakaran.
“The water in the drains has been stagnant for too long and is a health hazard," he said.
"The lives of the residents and students in the nearby school are at stake.
“I will get Alam Flora to pump out the water while we wait for Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to resolve the issue with the private land developer who blocked the drain’s outlet,” said Prabakaran.
Taman Kaya/Springfield Residents Association vice chairman Yap Seong Kon said they were very worried for the 2,000 residents and 5,000 students in the school, which houses a hostel, in the area.
“When it rains, the water level rises and backflows into the septic tanks. Some residents can’t flush their toilets properly.
“The drains are a mosquito-breeding ground. The floating rubbish is an eyesore and the area is smelly,” said Yap.
Resident Malvinder Singh said his children could no longer play outside for fear of mosquitoes.
“I’m also forced to keep my doors and windows shut the whole time to prevent the bad smell and mosquitoes from coming into my house,” he said.
Resident Donald Yee said a sinkhole appeared in the backyard of his home next to the drain and held stagnant water.
“It was four inches wide last year, and despite my efforts to fill it in, it has grown to about a meter wide.
"I fear that my house will sink,” he said.
Another resident Datuk Rajpal Singh said the onus was on DBKL to find an alternative drain as residents here paid assessment tax for the maintenance of roads and drains.
The residential drain passes through a private piece of land. However, in 2014, this land was approved for the construction of two apartment blocks and two floors of underground car park.
The developer, Alamrio Properties, only discovered the underground drain in their land while doing piling works, and the project has stalled ever since.
Its director Jerry Dinesh Pereira said the drain did not appear in DBKL's database and nobody claimed ownership of it.
“This 30m drain cutting through our land is the main drain for the residential area, which channels stormwater from Taman Kaya into Sungai Utut. Alam Flora had been servicing the drain before we started development.
“With DBKL denying ownership, we are unable to proceed with the relocation of the drain, as it costs a lot of money and the neighbouring landowners have asked us to undertake its maintenance, which is not fair," said Pereira.
“We hope the owner will own up and do the needful, as we are running at a lost having our project delayed,” he said, adding that they only wanted to proceed with their project.
According to residents, the drain outlet in the private land had been blocked for the last two months and efforts to get it flowing through DBKL had been futile.
StarMetro highlighted this issue on June 12, and Prabakaran waded in by saying that DBKL would issue a notice to Alamrio to unblock the outlet.
However, the notice did not go through.
DBKL civil engineering and urban transportation department senior deputy director Sabuddin Mohd Salleh said he would have to refer to the legal department to find a solution.
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