Perimeter drains will be repaired in Taman Elok
Published on: Thursday, September 22, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
City Hall staff (right) speaks to the developer and consultant’s representatives about the run-off flowing from the vacant land in August.
SOME of the perimeter drains for Taman Elok, in Karamusing, will be repaired as part of mitigation efforts to prevent the housing road between the blocks of flats here from being hit by flash floods.A spokesman for City Hall’s Engineering Department said the company would also be attending to the damaged sections of the fencing and carpark which were closest to the construction site.
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“The developer has agreed to shoulder the costs for these repairs,” he said. “This is part of the ‘Erosion-Sediment Control Plan (ESCP)’ which the firm’s consultant has come up with.”
“The other particulars of this ESCP are still being finalised. Once the developer has signed-off on the plan it will be submitted to us for approval.”
He was responding to feedback from several occupants at the flats about the run-off and mud which flowed from the vacant land onto the stretch, during a downpour.
Many of these unit-owners were under the impression that this problem was triggered by work to clear the adjacent property.
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Some were unhappy about the potholes which had formed on the road between their blocks, as well as the layers of red earth which dirtied their car park. Others bemoaned the nuisance created by the stench coming from the drains around these buildings.
Landscaping Department staff put their backs into removing the stones and mud from this Karamunsing drain.
They suspected that these structures might be clogged, with the soil which had washed down from the developer’s land, and the water could be stagnating inside.
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The spokesman said City Hall had received nine separate complaints about the problems at Taman Elok between last month and February 2021.
He said a check carried out, when the flood and mud woes first came to light, revealed that the firm had been clearing the land without prior permission from the agency. “The company was instructed to cease this work with immediate effect.
“The management was, subsequently, served with a notice and compounded for the poor management of the drains around the land.”
The maximum compound for violations under City Hall’s (Earthworks) By-Laws 1987 (Amendment 2014) was RM500, according to him.
“The company paid the penalty and was asked to have a diversion put in place to channel away the run-off from its property.
“This included constructing a silt trap and ‘benteng (embankment)’ after its retention pond.”
He said the firm had assured the agency that it would step up surveillance of the run off to minimise the possibility of floods recurring in the neighbourhood. “The management also agreed to clean up any mud left behind on the housing road once the flood waters had receded.”
The spokesman said the Department had been periodically monitoring the goings-on near Lorong Pipit Merah to ensure that the firm met the agency’s requirements. “Officers with our Earthworks’ Unit have been involved in joint inspections with the developer’s and consultant’s staff twice so far this year. The most recent check was made on August 8.”
A spokesman for City Hall’s Landscaping Department said its personnel had been checking on the condition of the housing drains around Taman Elok on and off. “Our workers de-silt these structures as and when it warrants doing so,” he said.
“At one stage, they found that a culvert in this area was clogged with earth and stones and undertook the back-breaking work to remove these obstacles.”
BENE of Karamunsing spoke out about flash floods on the road which led to the block of flats at Taman Elok where he lived.
He said the water which collected on the stretch, occasionally, became impassable to drivers.
“The run-off flowing down the road often reminds me of what a swollen river looks like during a downpour,” he said.
He said motorists had to shoulder the high costs of maintaining their cars due to the wear and tear caused from going through the flood waters.
These drainage woes began after the reclamation work started at the end of the housing road early last year, according to Bene.
“Some of my neighbours have spoken to the developer about this. Despite this effort, our pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
“Nothing has been done to prevent the floods from occurring when it rains. No action has been taken to either to divert or contain the run-off from the construction site.”
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