A POORLY maintained monsoon drain at Lim Garden in Ipoh, Perak, is causing heaps of issues for residents.
Situated between Jalan Silibin Baru 2 and Jalan Ayaru, the monsoon drain is filled with vegetation, causing it to clog and attract “unwanted guests”.
Retired police officer Devarani Shanmugam, 65, said the monsoon drain had not been maintained for many years.
“The undergrowth is growing uncontrollably.
“I believe there is a schedule for cleaning works, but I don’t see anything being done to the monsoon drain.
“I remember a time when Ipoh City Council workers were prompt with cleaning the drains.
“Since cleaning works have been outsourced, it has just gotten worse,” she said when met.
Devarani, who has lived in Lim Garden for 28 years, has lodged numerous complaints with the city council on the matter.
“This year alone, I have made numerous complaints since February.
“I have even included photographs of vegetation in the monsoon drain,” she added.
Devarani checked the city council’s online complaint system often, to find that her complaints were being processed or had been resolved.
“The latest complaint I lodged was in June about the vegetation in the drain.
“The system showed that the complaint had been resolved, but undergrowth is still there.”
“I believe it is the city council’s responsibility to clear the undergrowth in the monsoon drain,” she said.
Dengue hotspot
Devarani said Lim Garden was a known hotspot for dengue and chikungunya.
“I know many residents here who have been bitten by Aedes mosquitoes and fallen ill.
“My husband has gotten dengue twice, my daughter once, while I got chikungunya a few years back.
“It is painful to go through these diseases, and residents here fear they might contract them,” she said.
Devarani said the city council’s contractors needed to buck up and do their work.
“It is not right for residents to constantly lodge reports and push them to do their job.
“Is there no longer any supervision?” she asked.
Former telecommunications technician T. Ratnam, 81, said many residents had installed nettings on their windows and doors to prevent mosquitoes from entering their homes.
“It is one way to protect ourselves indoors, but the bugs still find their way in somehow.
“We apply mosquito repellent before leaving our homes.
“We cannot even stand outside in the porch for too long, because we will get swarmed,” he said.
Ratnam, who has lived in Lim Garden for 30 years, said the monsoon drain should be cleaned regularly to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in stagnant water.
“I am fortunate that I have not been infected with dengue.
“Residents can only do so much to protect themselves, and we hope that the authorities can clear the monsoon drain as soon as possible,” he said.
Ratnam said fogging was carried out quite recently, which was an indication that someone had contracted dengue.
“Those responsible for cleaning the drains should not do a shoddy job, because we are the ones facing the consequences.
“Prevention is always better than cure,” he added.
Unwelcomed visitors
Music teacher Ruben Edward, whose house is next to the monsoon drain, said apart from mosquitoes, there had also been incidents of snakes and monitor lizards entering homes.
“A monitor lizard was found hiding behind my washing machine once,” he said.
“I called the Fire and Rescue Department to remove it.
“Snakes have also entered Devarani’s porch twice, but luckily she has dogs to chase them away,” he said.
Ruben, in his 50s, had also seen strangers walking along the monsoon drain and climbing up onto the road in front of his house.
“Many residents here are the elderly, and we don’t feel safe if strangers can simply climb up from the drain and get onto our roads.”
Gnanam Manickam, 80, who has lived in Lim Garden for 60 years, also shared her concerns of strangers loitering in the area.
“I worry about thefts and robberies, especially when I come home in the late evening after activities outside,” she said, adding that there had been several such cases in the area.
“The residents here also pay for security guards, but the guards cannot be everywhere.”
Regular clean-up
Retired teacher A. Janakee, 77, believed that there was still some debris from a fallen wall in the monsoon drain.
“Part of a retention wall collapsed three months ago, and debris fell into the drain.
“The bigger pieces were removed but there are still some smaller ones in the drain, clogging it,” she said.
She added that she had lodged a complaint with the city council for action to be taken on the wall before it collapsed.
Janakee believes that overgrown vegetation has covered the smaller pieces.
She urged the city council to look into the drain issue fast.
“If the drain is clear and water flows smoothly, I believe we will not have anymore dengue cases here.
“Fortunately, the drain is deep, so water does not overflow whenever it rains heavily but it does take time for it to recede,” she said.
Janakee said as taxpayers, the residents were deserving of cleaner drains.
“We pay our assessment taxes promptly.
“If we don’t or pay late, we get notices,” she said.
“Those responsible should have a schedule to clean the drain regularly and to keep to it,” she emphasised.
When contacted, Buntong assemblyman M. Thulsi said the city council needed to ensure its contractor was doing the job it was hired for.
“If there is vegetation in the drain, it means the contractor is not following its schedule.
“Ipoh City Council cannot just rely on photographs supplied by the contractor stating that the work has been done,” she said.
“It needs to ensure the drains have been cleaned by the contractor,” she added.
Thulsi, who believes this issue is rampant in other constituencies too and not just in Buntong, said shoddy work was unacceptable.
Scheduled cleaning cycle
When contacted, Perak local government committee chairman Sandrea Ng said the Lim Garden monsoon drain was scheduled for cleaning once every four months.
“Like monsoon drains in other areas, the drains are cleaned periodically on a four-month cycle,” she said.
“This is part of the agreement with the contractor.
“The last time the Lim Garden monsoon drain was cleaned was at the end of April.
“The next scheduled clean-up is in August,” Ng elaborated.
Part of this retention wall has collapsed into the monsoon drain. Lim Garden folk believe some smaller debris still remain, buried in the vegetation.
Overgrown vegetation blocking the flow of water in the Lim Garden monsoon drain.
Ruben says he once found a monitor lizard hiding behind his washing machine.
Janakee says residents pay their taxes promptly so the city council needs to render prompt services.
Gnanam is concerned over non-residents loitering in the residential area.
Ratnam says many have installed nettings on their windows and doors to prevent mosquitoes from entering their homes.
Devarani showing the list of complaints she made to the Ipoh City Council.
