Residents chided for not tending greenery
Published on: Wednesday, September 08, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
.jpg "Residents chided for not tending greenery")
Landscaping Department staff checks on the condition of this drain reserve in Taman Putra Perdana.
Several Telipok residents have been chided for abusing the privilege to beautify the common area behind their homes as they have failed to tend to the greenery they planted there.City Hall welcomes initiatives to turn drain reserves into private gardens as such efforts make these public spaces more pleasing to the eye.
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However, the gardeners are supposed to maintain their greenery regularly.
The agency found that this was not being done in some parts of Taman Putra Perdana Phase 3.
A spokesman for City Hall’s Landscaping Department (LD) said the banana trees and tapioca plants on these backyard reserves were overgrown and likely to hinder work to clear the drains here.
“Notices were served to homeowners in these areas, instructing them to either trim their greenery or have it removed altogether,” he said.
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“They will be given a grace-period to comply. Should they fail to do so, then further action will be taken.”
He did not rule out the possibility of City Hall uprooting these trees and plants, if their owners failed to abide by the agency’s instructions.
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The spokesman said LD personnel noted the presence of other structures on the drain reserves during their inspection.
“Part of one reserve had been blocked off by a makeshift fence made up of wooden pallets, while a blue water tank had been placed outside the fence on another reserve.”
The Kolombong gardener has blocked off a section of the common land with a fence.
He said the relevant section had been apprised of these observations.
A spokesman for the agency’s Building Control Department (BCD) said its staff were in the process of investigating this encroachment.
“In July, we received a report about illegal structures occupying some of reserves in the neighbourhood, as well as homes being extended into this property,” he said.
“We were made to understand that in one case a shed-like structure had been built in front of one house, possibly to keep the dustbins for the premises.”
When asked about the three-month delay in verifying this claim, he declined to comment.
“Those found to be illegally occupying the government land around their units, either with their renovations or by placing objects on the reserve, will be notified to remove these structures.
“Legal action could be taken against them if the encroachment persists.”
MARC of Telipok said there were overgrown gardens on the common land at the back of several homes in Taman Putra Perdana Phase 3.
The trees in both areas had not been pruned in some, according to him.
“I wonder how the common drains in this area are being cleaned under these circumstances,” he said.
“The long branches would make it difficult for City Hall’s workers to access some parts of these structures.
“Any blockages will cause the water to stagnate inside the drains. Aedes mosquitoes would very likely begin breeding here.
He feared that the improper maintenance of the drains might trigger a dengue outbreak in the neighbourhood.
Meanwhile, LD and BCD staff will check on the goings-on in a Kolombong neighbourhood, following claims that a rate-payer there had cordoned off a section of a backyard reserve but was failing to maintain this property.
The fruit trees and vegetables growing on this Kolombong drain reserve have not been maintained in a long time.
MING of Kolombong said part of the common land behind his house had been fenced off by one of his neighbours.
On top of this, he said the homeowner had cultivated vegetables and fruit trees on this property.
“Pitula plants, banana trees and lemon grass are growing outside her fence,” he said.
“However, she is not bothered to look after her plants. They are growing in such a haphazard manner which makes the area look messy.”
He said ‘lalang’ and other weeds had sprung up there and had not been trimmed in some time.
“How can the individual get away with occupying land which belongs to the authority?”Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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