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Papar District Council and City Hall personnel have been asked to be more mindful about the state of the greenery under their care.

Such diligence would ensure that the public was not unduly inconvenienced by any irregularities involving the trees and grass within its rating-area, according to officers from both agencies.

They were responding to the concerns about the long branches which extended over some the roads in Kinarut and Inanam.

A driver from the former area said the trees, including bamboo groves, on Jalan Kinarut Town and Jalan Mook had not been attended to in years.  

He feared that the overgrown branches and bamboo stems could break at any time, causing harm to motorists and pedestrians who might be unlucky enough to be passing by underneath when this happened.

His counterpart from Inanam, on the other hand, spoke out about the greenery at one part of Jalan Tuaran. 

She noticed that the canopy of the trees at Mile 6 had become so thick, with the branches and leaves obscuring the brightness of the streetlights on the divider. 

These individuals provided Hotline with the location of the affected greenery, which was forwarded to the authorities.

A Council spokesman said a preliminary inspection was made of Jalan Kinarut Town and Jalan Mook, shortly after it learned of the driver’s concerns.

“Our staff confirmed the presence of the overgrown trees,” he said. “In some places, the bamboo stems had become so long that they had begun curving down towards these roads.”

A check of the agency’s records revealed that these stretches were listed in its road-register, according to him.

“The roads, including the reserve land on either side, are maintained by our concessionaires.

He said four of the agency’s Landscaping workers used machetes to trim those bamboo stems which they could reach, along Jalan Kinarut, a few days after the first check.

“Priority was accorded to pruning those trees which were below 4.5 metres in height from the surface of the road to ensure that the branches did not break off and endanger the public.

"One of our open trucks was deployed to facilitate this effort.”

The spokesman said the same pruning-work was subsequently carried out on Jalan Mook.

“Our team went back to with a sky-lift over a week later to deal with the longer bamboo stems and to remove any vines which were hanging down over the road.”

The spokesman said the road reserves under the agency’s jurisdiction, including the trees, were maintained on an ad hoc basis, only when it warranted doing so.

Nevertheless, he said its technicians had been asked to be more diligent in checking the condition of the greenery growing on these verges.

He admitted, however, that it was often difficult for them to keep up with their responsibilities.

“Our rating area stretches from Lok Kawi all the way up to Bongawan. 

“We do not have enough manpower to cover such an extensive area. Even if we did, however, it would be impossible for our staff to be everywhere at once.”

Meanwhile, City Hall is keeping an eye on the trees and streetlights on the median at Mile 6 Jalan Tuaran.

A spokeswoman for City Hall’s Landscaping Department said its Tree Pruning Unit trimmed the canopy of this greenery recently.

“A sky-lift and one of our open trucks was sent to facilitate the effort of the 10 personnel assigned to carry out this work,” she said.

A spokesman for the agency’s Engineering Department said its electrical contractor later attended to the streetlights on the divider.

“He and his workers set any which were leaning over upright and later checked on the bulbs and other related mechanisms,” he said.

None of these components were damaged, according to him.

“Nevertheless, we have called on the contractor to step up the night-time surveillance in this part of Inanam for the benefit of the many drivers who use the roads in these areas.” 

When asked how often the lights which belonged to City Hall were maintained, the spokesman said this was done as and when it warranted doing so. 

The spokeswoman said the greenery in the common areas around the agency’s rating-area was tended to in a similar fashion.