Stop the erosion, urge residents The current rainy spell has worsened the situation

Wednesday September 12, 2007

MORE than 150 residents of Kampung Baru Air Merah in Kulim are appealing to the authorities to build an embankment along Sungai Air Merah to prevent further erosion along the bank of the river.

Resident Mohd Said Hussein, 76, said the current rainy spell had worsened the situation.
He said following complaints from the residents, officials from the Department of Drainage and Irrigation (DID) visited the site but nothing had been done so far.
He said soil along a 50m stretch of the riverbank collapsed on July 22, resulting in massive flooding at the village.

“All it takes is an hour of heavy rain. The rain causes the river to swell and this is causing fear and anxiety among the village folk,’’ Mohd Said added.
He said the area badly affected by the erosion was the riverbank near Taman Melur where the erosion washed away soil of over one metre high.

“With Ramadan approaching,we hope the authorities will build a strong concrete barricade to prevent further erosion,” he added.

Another resident, Mahathir Saad, 34, said he had written to the Kulim DID but had not received any response.

“We’re willing to do a gotong-royong to help build the barricade as we don’t want our homes to be flooded each time it rains but we lack the funds,” he said.

Kulim assemblyman Boey Chin Gan, who visited the area on Monday said his service centre had alerted the DID to rectify the matter as soon as possible.

“I’ve been told that the department is taking action but is still waiting for an allocation as the budget involves a big sum,” he said, adding that he would contact the DID to expedite the matter.