Need to upgrade Kepayan drainage

Daily Express

3 days ago

Published on: Wednesday, June 04, 2025
Published on: Wed, Jun 04, 2025
By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: An excavator was deployed to help in efforts to clear this large drain near Taman Sepanggar Phase 2. THE government concessionaire has cleared the roadside drains in a Kepayan neighbourhood, but pointed out that such maintenance will only minimally prevent water from stagnating inside, unless the gradient for these structures is restored. To this end, the company hopes that City Hall will consider upgrading the drains along Lorong Rampai as such structural improvement falls outside the management's scope of work. The Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), meanwhile, is in the process of cleaning a large drain which runs along one side of Lorong Buah Mempelam 3C in Manggatal. Action to attend to these drains was prompted by feedback that they were clogged with water vegetation. The homeowners in Taman Selesa and Taman Sepanggar Phase 2, who spoke out about this, feared the possibility of flash floods occurring in their respective areas. They provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding these drainage irregularities which were forwarded to the relevant agencies. A spokeswoman for City Hall's Landscaping Department said the concessionaire's workers removed the weeds which had sprung up in the Kepayan drains a few days before the Harvest Festival public holidays last week. 'We were made to understand that a lot of settlement has taken place in the area since the housing drains on either side of Lorong Rampai were first built many years ago,' she said. 'This settlement has apparently affected the movement of runoff channelled through these structures. 'Because of this, ponding occurs in these drains and water vegetation tends to thrive inside.' Per the company's records, the roadside drains, off Lorong Rampai, were last cleaned on April 16, according to her. She said one of the Department's staff checked on the condition of the drains near the complainant's premises in the second week of May. 'He noticed that a concrete driveway was fashioned over a section of the drains. 'The rate-payer who did this may have inadvertently impeded the flow of the water inside. 'We suspect that bits of the cement mortar could have fallen into the drains, if not the culvert, and hardened at the base, when the driveway was built.' The spokeswoman said the agency's Engineering Department would be apprised of the observations regarding the driveway in question, as well as the potential settlement which was likely to have taken place in Taman Selesa. 'Our Engineering colleagues will have to determine how best to improve the drainage in the housing area. 'They will have to decide whether it warrants upgrading the roadside drains here.' In the case of Taman Sepanggar Phase 2, the DID has gradually been attending to the large drain, near one part of the residential property, over the past two months. A DID spokeswoman said a contractor had been de-silting the structure in stages since April. 'He was asked to pay particular attention to clearing this vegetation from the outlets for the drain,' she said. 'The individual was also tasked with clearing the overgrown grass on the reserve land on either side.' She said an excavator had been 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 Department's drains in the State Capital were generally attended to between three to four times annually. The spokeswoman said the Department was aware of the flood woes in this part of Manggatal. 'We are in the midst of identifying those flood-prone areas around the town.' She said the agency hoped to come up with possible solutions to the flash floods which had hit those living and working there. 'A study on the drainage around the town will have to be conducted to facilitate this effort." * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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