City Hall intends to have the sewage pipes servicing the HSK Industrial Centre in Inanam flushed in a bid to mitigate the recurring sewerage woes there.Manholes on the roads around the shophouses, located off Mile 7 Jalan Tuaran, have been overflowed on and off since last year.
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In each instance, the agency’s Engineering Department (ED) has stepped in to unclog the pipes, with congealed cooking grease being cited as the root cause of the blockage.
An ED spokesman said it would arrange to have a high-pressure jet of water to dislodge any obstructions in the sewage line for the building.
“We tentatively hope to have this done within the next few months,” he said.
“In the meantime, the contractor responsible for maintaining the sewerage at the centre has been asked to step up efforts to clear the pipes.”
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“We are working together with our colleagues from the Health and Environment Department (HED) to deal with the problems arising from the haphazard disposal of used cooking oil at kitchens in this area.”
A HED spokesman warned that eatery operators risked being slapped with a RM500 compound for failing to maintain the grease-traps in their kitchens.
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He said such action could be taken in extreme cases under the agency’s by-laws.
“First time offenders face the possibility of having to settle a RM100 compound,” he said.
He said the Department’s inspectors would be checking on the condition of the kitchens, including the grease-traps, at food outlets there.
“The grease should be removed from the traps every day and not as and when it becomes necessary to do so,” he said.
“If need be, notices to this effect will be issued to all the proprietors in the building instructing them to step up efforts to attend to the traps on their premises.”
The spokesman said the eatery-operators concerned would be given a grace period in which to do this,” he said.
“Should they fail to comply, then further action will be taken against them.”
An Inanam motorist has spoken out about the nuisance created by effluent pooling in some parts of the road at the SK Industrial Centre.
ALYN of Penampang said the tyres of his car were soiled by the foul smelling fluids coming from some of the manholes around the commercial centre.
“I had been on my way to pick up a friend who lives in the building,” he said.
“My car splashed through what I thought were puddles of water before I succeeded in finding the block where she stays.”
He and his companion had been going for lunch in Inanam.
When Alyn reached the coffeeshop several minutes later, he was shocked to find that the body of his car smelt like a toilet.
“I had to stop by a petrol kiosk, after we had taken our meal, to hose down the vehicle
“I suspected that the liquid which splashed on my car earlier was effluent from some manholes.”
His suspicions were confirmed when he dropped his friend off at the commercial centre.
“It was only then that I noticed the fluids ‘erupting’ from the manholes. They were like a series of mini volcanoes.”
“I am sure that other drivers would have also had their vehicles soiled by the stinking liquid.”
He said his companion decried the foul smell that wafted into her unit.
“My friend expressed her frustrations about the lack of ventilation in her place.
“She has to keep the windows which overlook the road nearby closed to prevent the stench from getting in.”
Alyn was made to understand that this was a recurring problem.
“My friend told me that the manholes had been overflowed on an off since last year.”
He hoped the local authorities would address these sewerage woes for the benefit of the public.
Alyn provided Hotline with the location of the manholes which was forwarded to City Hall.
The ED spokesman said the contractor checked on the sewerage on two separate occasions, after the agency became aware of this problem.
“A day after the pipes were cleared the first time, they became clogged again,” he said.
“The individual removed the blockages only to find that the manholes were overflowing again, when he went back six days later.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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