IT looks like villagers of Kampung Ampar Tenang in Dengkil, Selangor, will have to put up with drainage overflow and flash floods for a longer period until a flood mitigation project kicks off.
The villagers are urging the state government to expedite the drain upgrading project in their area.
They claim that of late, water tends to overflow, resulting in flash floods.
However, Selangor infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim said the Sungai Langat Flood Mitigation Plan Phase 2 project, which was expected to start soon, would take seven years to be completed.
He said the drainage work was one of the components of the Sungai Semarang upgrading project under Phase 2.
“The work will be funded by the Federal Government and is on the priority list,” he said.
In explaining the history, Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) councillor Kenneth Lee said the drain upgrading project involved an 830m stretch in Kampung Ampar Tenang.
The project, he said, was a joint effort between Selangor government and a property developer building a township nearby.
“The drain passes through the village.
“Drainage water flows into culverts under the Dengkil bypass to Sungai Semarang, which then flows into Sungai Langat.
“Sepang Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) found that the culverts were not big enough to channel the volume of water, hence the backflow,” he said.
Lee said DID studied the issue and then worked with the developer to solve the problem.
He said the developer had been tasked to upgrade the 630m drain stretch while the remaining 200m would be completed by the state government.
“I believe that there are underground utility lines in the 200m portion, which is why the state will be taking over,” he said.
“The plan was for the developer to complete its part first.
“The developer fulfilled its obligation last December, but the project has stalled since then,” said Lee.
As a result, water still backflows into the village during downpours.
The area closest to the culverts was a plantation and previously, residents were not affected by drainage backflow or overflowing until a new bund was built in July close to the culverts.
The building of the bund caused water to overflow into the village, Lee added.
