Ponds a dumping ground

Lim Lip Eng (right) pointed at broken underground water pipes undetected by the authorities due to lack of technology for that. (Photo by Lim)

Stomach-churning sight: The water from Sungai Keroh flowing into the polluted pond. (Photo by PRIYA MENON)

Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro (Story by PRIYA MENON, 12/3/2010)

RESIDENTS near the Segambut Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) station have been illegally dumping their domestic waste into three ponds in the area for 10 years now. The ponds were never discovered until recently after a link road between Jalan Kepong and Jalan Segambut was opened.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng held a press conference at the venue recently to highlight the state of the ponds. “The residents nearby have been conveniently dumping their waste into the ponds because these ponds were hidden in the past. However, with the new road it has become an eyesore,” he said. Lim industrial waste, domestic waste and animal carcasses were among the things that had been dumped into the ponds.

Sungai Keroh is the source of the ponds’ water.

“The has become a breeding ground for aedes mosquitoes due to the presence of empty bottles and cans which are the ideal places for the larvae to breed,” said Lim. According to Lim, the monsoon drain on the other side has dried up as a result of an unfinished work. “The outlet from the river to the monsoon drain has not been completed, forcing the water to flow into the pond,” he said. Lim urged the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to look at ways to clean up the ponds in light of the Kuala Lumpur Cleanliness Day 2010 launched recently. He added the DBKL’s new Cleanliness Squad should catch the culprits littering the ponds. “These ponds could become a recreational park for residents in the area. I believe many would prefer that to the stinking ponds,” Lim said.

While visiting the site, Lim also pointed out broken water pipes causing water wastage in front of a surau. “There are many places in KL with this problem and we cannot detect burst pipes because we do not have the technology for that,” he said. Lim said he would send pictures of the ponds to the DBKL for them to take remedial action. “The country is facing water shortage due to the heat wave and instead of rationing water the broken pipes whould be repaired instead,”