Clogged M’ggatal drain to be cleared
Published on: Monday, June 01, 2020
By: Sidney Skinner
The culverts for this Manggatal drain badly need to be cleared.
Kota Kinabalu: City Hall will clear a drain behind some homes in Taman Sepanggar Phase 2, Manggatal, following a complaint that the structure was clogged with grass and water vegetation.A spokesman for the agency said a contractor had been appointed to attend to the drain earlier this year.
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“The appointment came into effect in April,” he said.
“However, due to the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO), the individual has been unable to proceed.”
He said City Hall staff would arrange to carry out a site inspection together with the contractor now that the MCO has been partially lifted.
“Once we have gauged the extent of the work, he can begin to obtain the necessary machinery needed for the task.
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“We will monitor his progress to ensure that the drain is properly de-silted, including removing the weeds from around and inside the structure.”
The spokesman tentatively hoped that these efforts would get underway within “the next few months”.
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“The drain is cleared once a year per a fixed schedule. This was last done somewhere between May and June last year.
“Due to its sizeable length and depth, the drain can only be maintained on a contract basis.”
VUI of Manggatal was under the impression that a flood mitigation drain was situated at the back of his home as he claimed the structure was quite sizeable.
He said the drain appeared to be poorly maintained as it was full of water vegetation.
“The drain has not been cleared for over a year and is full of sediment,” he said.
“This debris has built up into islands, more than a foot high, which provides the perfect habitat for shrubs and other plants.”
Vui was at a loss to understand how City Hall could have turned a blind eye to this situation.
“Some time back, the agency promised the residents that an excavator would be sent to clear the drain, but, so far, this has yet to be done.”
He said the compounds of homes in the area were flooded whenever it rained heavily and wondered whether this was a result of this main drain being blocked.
“As someone who lives along one of these stretches, I hope the agency responsible for looking after this structure will have it cleared without delay.
“When this is done, City Hall should focus on having the culverts servicing the drain unclogged as well.”
Vui provided Hotline with the location of the drain in question. This information was forwarded to the Drainage and Irrigation Department and City Hall.
A Department spokeswoman said a check of its records revealed that the structure was not under the agency’s jurisdiction.
“We are helpless to intervene as the drain is not used for flood-mitigation purposes,” she said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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