Kepayan backyard drains cleaned, grass trimmed
Published on: Tuesday, January 26, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
City Hall workers clearing the overgrown greenery along this Kepayan drain reserve.
CITY Hall has dealt with the backyard drains in a Kepayan neighbourhood to ensure that water does not continue to stagnate inside.Action was also taken to rid the area of any mosquitoes which might have been breeding in these structures.ADVERTISEMENT
A spokesman for the City Hall’s Landscaping Department said an inspection was carried out of the public areas, in front and at the back of homes, along Lorong Rampai.
“This was done in the first week of January, shortly after we became aware of the nuisance posed by the foul smell coming from some of these structures,” he said.
“During the inspection, our staff confirmed the presence of scum on the surface of the water inside.
“They also observed that the drain reserve in some sections of the neighbourhood was overgrown.”ADVERTISEMENT
He said City Hall workers went down a few days later to address these irregularities.
“They cleaned the backyard drains and tended to the greenery on the land beside these structures.”
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The spokesman explained that the agency’s landscaping activities had not been disrupted by the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
He said the drain cleaning work, as well as the upkeep of playgrounds and public parks, was still being done.
“Aside from this, our personnel continue to make an effort to trim the grass and prune the trees in public areas.”
Nevertheless, the number of workers, tasked with fulfilling these responsibilities – as well as their working hours – had been reduced, according to him.
“Our manpower has been decreased somewhat per the standard operating procedures which are being enforced at this time.
“As such, we hope the public will be understanding should there be any hold-up in addressing their grievances.
“Given the extensiveness of our rating area, we will do our best to attend to their problems as quickly as we can.”
The spokesman explained that City Hall was responsible for looking after the drains outside backyards around the State Capital.
“This work is carried out once every three months.”
The common areas around the housing area were fogged.
He said the housing road drains were cleaned by the government concessionaire, with this maintenance performed according to a prearranged schedule.
A spokesman for the agency’s Health and Environment Department said the neighbourhood was fogged in the second week of January.
“Two of our personnel carried out this work in the common areas and, where permitted, the compounds of homes a day before the MCO went into effect,” he said.
He said ratepayers, who were alarmed about the profusion of mosquitoes in their area, could write to the Mayor about their concerns.
“They should ask for pest-control measures to be enacted in their areas. Their letters will be minuted to the relevant department.
“Their requests will be duly considered, with the department enlisting the assistance of the ‘Pejabat Kesihatan Kawasan’ (local health office) to determine if there is indeed a profusion of mosquitoes along their housing roads.
“Should this prove to be true, then we will arrange to have their neighbourhoods fogged.”
He said City Hall generally did this in locations which were designated as “red zones” for dengue or in places where previous outbreaks had occurred.
The spokesman said fogging was carried out according to a fixed schedule at the latter.
A Health Department spokeswoman said its staff would have to establish whether fogging was warranted in these cases.
“If there is a basis for their claims, then control measures will be enacted in their individual areas,” she said.
“In most cases, fogging is performed in areas where cases of dengue fever have been recorded.”
She said ratepayers could also contact the authority for help regarding their misgivings.
PAULINE of Kepayan lamented the poor management of the drains at the back of homes on Lorong Rampai.
She noticed that the water inside the structures took a long time to recede.
“The drains are clogged with silt and a green scum has formed on the surface of the water inside,” she said.
“I suspect that the water is stagnating as, during dry spells, a stench wafts into our homes from the direction of the drains.”
She said the lack of maintenance carried out on the drains did not bode well for the wellbeing of rate-payers there.
“I have noticed a lot of mosquitoes buzzing about while walking to my home from my car at night.
“We could very well experience a dengue outbreak, as I suspect that Aedes mosquitoes have begun breeding in the drains.”
Pauline appealed to the local authorities to do something promptly about this situation before a massive dengue outbreak occurred in her area.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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“There is no point fogging after dengue cases are reported.
“Preventative measures, such as maintaining the drains, should be implemented well before hand.”