Poor upkeep of recreation area
Published on: Friday, March 12, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
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The greenery along the road leading to the recreation area in Kg Digot is unkempt and bits of rubbish have been thrown on the verge.
The pile of grass trimmings was heaped on this Manggatal housing road in January.
“The beautification effort was a one-off project, with funds provided by one of the ministries.” RENA of Penampang was unhappy about the lack of maintenance carried out at the recreation area in Kg Digot. “The grass is more than six feet high in some places as it has not been trimmed for a long time,” she said. “The trees along the road are equally overgrown and badly need to be pruned.” Rena said the recreation area, which was built in 2018, was a place where the locals gathered to fish, have picnics or take in the sunset. “Exercise enthusiasts, like myself, regularly make use of the verge along the road to go for a jog or take a walk. “The sorry state of the greenery makes this an unpleasant experience.” Off late, she said she had also noticed bits of rubbish strewn along the area where she usually runs. “I jog here almost every day and have noticed that the garbage has not been removed for months. “The local authorities should take greater care to keep this recreation area and potential tourist-spot rubbish free.” Meanwhile, a Manggatal ratepayer has spoken out about the half-hearted job carried out by a contractor tasked with tending to road shoulder in one part of Taman Richdar. The individual trimmed the grass but failed to remove the cuttings which have been left on the housing road “for months”. She said most of this mess had since been scattered by the wind and rain. The homeowner said the grass seeds, among the trimmings, had taken root in the mud along the pavement outside her front gate. The resident provided Hotline with the name of the stretch, as well as the location of her home. This information was forwarded to City Hall. The spokesman said the maintenance of the common areas along the housing road, including the verge and the drains on either side, was under the government concessionaire.
The grass seeds in the waste have since sprouted into small bushes along the pavement.
“The firm is responsible for clearing away the cuttings after the grass has been trimmed,” he said. “We will have a word with the company about the ratepayer’s grievance.” He said the agency was responsible for cleaning the backyard drains and cutting the grass on the reserve land beside these structures. “These drains are cleared on a quarterly basis while the grass is trimmed once a month,” he said. EILEEN of Manggatal said the road shoulders and front-yard drains in the neighbourhood were tended to at the beginning of the year. “This was done in the middle of January. The trimmings were swept into piles and left behind on the verge and road,” she said. “I can’t understand why this garden waste was not removed right away or even a few days later.” She said a pile of these cuttings was placed on the housing road a few metres away from her house. As of March 11, this garden waste still had not been transported away, according to her. She said the grass seeds, in the waste, had since found purchase in the mud between the edge of the road and the pavement next to her fence. The tufts of sprouting grass made this common area look like an eye-sore, according to her. “I have related my observations to City Hall several times over the past few months, but no action has been forthcoming.” Eileen said this was not the first time that the waste from the common areas had been left behind in front of her house. “In October, the drain outside my front-yard was cleaned and the sediment from inside was placed on the pavement nearby. “This muck eventually dried. Most of it was eventually washed into the drain by rainwater.” The homeowner was at a loss to understand why the agency was dragging its feet to take away the present mess. “The residents in the neighbourhood are liable for house assessment. “It is especially unfair of City Hall to have these charges levied on us when the agency’s services are, at best, unreliable.”
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