THE Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) is arranging to deal with a clogged flood drain in one part of Manggatal, while City Hall (DBKK) is keeping an eye on a housing drain running behind some residences in a Likas neighbourhood.
This action was prompted by feedback about the drainage woes in Taman Sepanggar Phase 2 and Taman Likas Jaya.
The compounds of homes in a section of the former neighbourhood flooded during a downpour earlier this month, prompting one of the affected homeowners to speak out about the lack of maintenance carried out on the large drain which could be seen from the end of his housing road.
He suspected that the base of the structure might be caked with mud as evidenced by the thick carpet of water vegetation which had formed inside.
His counterpart in Likas, meanwhile, was under the impression that the water might be stagnating inside the drain outside her backyard due to the foul smell which occasionally wafted into her kitchen from the direction of the structure.
Both individuals provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding these irregularities which were forwarded to the relevant agencies.
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A DID spokeswoman for the former agency said an inspection would be made of the drain which runs along one side of homes on Lorong Buah Mempelam 3C.
“Should it indeed be thick with weeds, then we will arrange to have a contractor de-silt the structure,” she said.
“He will be asked to pay particular attention to clearing this vegetation from the outlets for the drain.
“The individual may also be asked to cut the grass on the reserve land on either side.”
She said an excavator would most likely be deployed to facilitate this effort.
When asked how often the structure was cleaned, the spokeswoman said there was no fixed schedule for this maintenance.
“We try to have our drains outside the city-limits cleaned annually. If the Department’s budget permits, this may be performed once more in that same year.”
She said the DID’s drains in the State Capital were generally attended to between three to four times annually.
Where Taman Likas Jaya was concerned, City Hall will step up efforts to look after the backyard drains in the housing area.
A spokesman for the agency’s “Jabatan Perkhidmatan Pembersihan Bandaraya (Urban Cleanliness Department, UCD)” said its personnel noticed that run off up to two feet deep was stagnating inside the backyard drain off Lorong Burung Kenari 5B, during a preliminary check.
“They theorised that the settlement which had taken place here over the previous years may have impacted the gradient of the structure,” he said.
He said the City Hall’s Engineering Department would be apprised of these observations.
“Our Engineering colleagues will have to determine how best to improve the flow of runoff in the drain. They will have to decide whether it warrants upgrading this structure and others in Taman Likas Jaya.”
In the meantime, he said, the UCD’s Drain Unit had attended to the affected drain.
“Ten of our workers used ‘cangkuls (hoes)’ to de-silt the structure and clear the weeds which had formed inside. They also removed the clumps of dead leaves which were obstructing passage of the runoff.”
He said a four-tonne truck was deployed to facilitate efforts to remove the debris from the work.
“The Unit has been asked to check on the condition of the backyard drains in the neighbourhood, from time to time, to ensure that any blockages are dealt with accordingly.”
