Tree pruning is sometimes done to prevent rainwater from pooling on branches.
SHAH Alam City Council (MBSA) carries out tree pruning in the city to reduce mosquito breeding grounds and prevent dengue outbreaks.
Mayor Dr Nor Fuad Abdul Hamid said branches of old trees can sometimes hold stagnant water.
“When residents in Shah Alam see us pruning trees, it evokes strong reactions from them because they have sentimental feelings for trees,” he said.
He added that some residents even lodged police reports about MBSA contractors felling the trees.
“These trees are 30 to 40 years old and we have to prune them for maintenance. We don’t chop down the trees,” he told StarMetro after chairing the full board meeting at Wisma MBSA yesterday.
Nor Fuad said dengue cases remained a big concern for MBSA, with one death recorded so far this year in Shah Alam.
From January to March 26 this year, the city council reported 1,752 dengue cases and 25 hotspots in Shah Alam.
For comparison, there were 5,259 dengue cases reported for the whole of 2022.
“We see an upward trend of dengue cases mostly because homeowners are not keeping their surroundings clean,” he said.
The areas with the highest number of cases were Section U19 (108), Section U5 (134), Section 25 (58), and Section 7 (47).
“Residents of landed properties need to check their water gutters regularly and not wait for MBSA officers to check.
“A lot of these houses are occupied by students, where the landlords also do not make it a point to check for mosquito breeding grounds,” added Nor Fuad.
He said MBSA conducted a joint operation to combat dengue on March 19 at PPR Kampung Baru Hicom in Section 26, which involved 81 city council officers, 125 residents and 109 staff from Petaling Health Office as well as Petaling Land Office.
“The joint operation included inspecting homes in old neighbourhoods to prevent the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes and lower the risk of dengue fever in high-risk localities, as well as to educate the people on keeping their living compound clean,” he added.
Other activities carried out were fogging, larviciding and health check-ups by the district health office staff.
Tree pruning is sometimes done to prevent rainwater from pooling on branches.
MBSA officers carrying out larviciding in the Section 7 neighbourhood as dengue cases rise. — Filepic
