The lake, one of several in Kelana Jaya, looks much better after the aquatic plants were cleared by MBPJ.
THE invasive plants that took over two lakes at the Kelana Jaya park may have been cleared, but beautification work and regular maintenance should be carried out, say park-goers and owners of businesses nearby.
Frequent park visitor Azlina Azmar said the cleaning up of the aquatic plant was a massive project involving the use of heavy vehicles at the lake side.
However, this has left the land surrounding the lake damaged.
“The land by the lake is damaged and looks messy. After a downpour, it turns muddy.
“The heavy vehicles that were brought to the lake for the cleaning process also left their deep tyre marks on the soil,” she said.
Azlina said the water at the lake looked stagnant as the aerator was not functioning.
She hoped that Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) would continue to monitor the lakes daily with the help of the park’s cleaners.
The soil surrounding the Kelana Jaya lake was damaged by heavy vehicles during the cleaning up works.
“We see the workers cutting the grass daily, which is not necessary. MBPJ can instead engage them to pick up aquatic plants that have washed off to the side of the lake, if there are any,” she said.
Elvin Goh, who owns a restaurant located next to one of the lakes, said he would do his part to monitor the lakes and alert the authorities if he noticed any new growth of the aquatic plants, which covered two of the lakes last month.
“Prior to the problem last month, one of my staff members used to remove the plants once every two weeks. I have a boat and can help with the cleaning.
“My restaurant overlooks the lake and if the lake is in bad condition, it would not be good for my business too,” said Goh.
He said the council should also inspect the lakes frequently as the unpredictable weather could affect the facilities at the park as well.
“The inlet and outlet to the lake need to be upgraded. The soil surrounding the inlets looks weak. We do not want the inlets to break as it may cause other problems.”
He hopes all business owners will ensure the lakes are well cared for.
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung said he had contacted the MBPJ Landscape Department and was glad when informed the two lakes had been cleared.
“I hope the lake will be closely monitored for the next two weeks so that the plants do not repopulate like before.
“I urge MBPJ to also repair parts of the park that was damaged during the cleaning work.
“I also hope that the public will not release anything into the lake as it may not be suitable for the ecosystem and condition,” he added.
The department’s director Dr Badrulzaman Jaafar, when contacted by StarMetro, said the lakes at the park were monitored by the contractor daily.
He said the contractor would restore the damaged grass by the side of the lakes.
“We are monitoring the lake closely and we will repair all the damage soon.
“As for the lake’s aerator, we will fix the mechanical issue and the system too,” he said.
StarMetro had, on March 1, highlighted the issue of aquatic plants covering the two lakes.
