Halls for schools often used as shelters

ALOR SETAR: A total of eight halls are being built in school premises that have often been used as flood relief centres, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the funds to construct the buildings that will act as permanent relief centres will be taken from the National Disaster Management Agency’s (Nadma) current allocation and the move is to provide victims with more comfortable facilities.

He added that the facilities will be managed by the schools themselves, and can be used by the schools and their students when there are no floods.

“Some of the schools often used as relief centres have toilets but are without shower facilities, so these new buildings will have adequate bathing facilities,” he told a press conference after a working visit to the Kedah Regional Development Authority headquarters here yesterday, reported Bernama.

He said it is estimated that about 1,000 schools throughout the peninsula are being used as relief centres during floods.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the Kedah Regional Development Authority (Keda) is facing several problems in developing its small and scattered land banks and in dealing with abandoned properties.

He added that its top management would find a way to resolve the issues, especially the abandoned land so that it could be developed and used by the landowners.