Compiled by ELISHA MARY EASTER and C.ARUNO
MORE than 4,000 residents in Taman Semarak in Sungai Petani, Kedah, have been carrying out their daily activities with a terrible stench from fish carcasses wafting from their sewage pond for the past five days, Kosmo! reported.
A resident of Taman Semarak Phase 1, Mohd Radzi Shamsudin, 69, said his son’s restaurant is next to the sewage pond and the odour had affected the latter’s business.
“Many customers complain about the bad smell and say that they don’t want to eat there because it is too nauseating,” he said, adding that his son had to close his restaurant for a few days.
Another resident, Nasir Yunus, 65, said there used to be plenty of fish in the clear sewage pond, located in the middle of the housing area between phases one and two, which used to be fishing spots.
“Since last week, we discovered that hundreds of tilapia fish have died as a result of the water becoming black... We’re still unsure of the cause,” he said.Housewife Maimunah Abdul Halim, 50, said the smell is getting worse by the day and her family members have lost their appetite.
“The stink is disorienting and the temperature is already hot,” she said.The head of the Taman Semarak community, Mohd Rizal Yahaya, said they are working with the authorities to clean the pond as quickly as possible.
> The Perlis government wants more Harumanis mangoes to be produced so they may be exported, according to Sinar Harian.
Despite their high price, Harumanis mangoes, sold at RM49 per kg, are still favourites among many.Mango farm owner Afnan Hakim Khalil said that there is a large demand for Harumanis throughout the country, particularly from Sarawak and Sabah.But to preserve the fruit’s quality, he said he does not deliver to the two Borneo states.
“Our mangoes comes with a promise of premium taste and a money-back guarantee if the fruit is damaged during delivery, so many people are eager to try them,” he said, adding his mangoes come in 1kg and 3kg boxes.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
