Govt Inanam land not maintained
Published on: Thursday, April 01, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
Teens have climbed to the platform at the top to photograph the sunset.
THE Water Department will attend to the government land in an Inanam neighbourhood.This follows feedback from a homeowner that these reserves were covered with long grass and creepers.
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The individual decried the overgrown properties as being a potential fire-hazard, as well as a breeding-ground for pests like snakes and rats.
The lack of maintenance rankled her as she feared that the well-being of her property and loved ones was being put at risk because of this.
She provided Hotline with the location of these unkempt areas which was forwarded to the agency.
The grounds of the pump-house, in another part of the neighbourhood, are overgrown and the gate is also unlocked.
A Department spokesman acknowledged that the agency had a pump-house and some elevated tanks there.
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“Our staff will be asked to check on the condition of the fenced off areas in which these installations are located,” he said.
“Should they indeed be overgrown, a contractor will be asked to trim the grass and remove the creepers which have sprung up here.”
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He said the Department would periodically keep an eye on the reserves to ensure that this land was properly maintained.
DOTTIE, who lives in Ujana Kingfisher, said the grounds for the agency’s installations had fallen into a state of neglect.
She got the impression that the area around the water tanks and pump-house had not been maintained “in years”.
She said the lack of maintenance caught her eye, when the tanks overflowed for a week recently.
“All of us living here were dumbfounded by the sight of the mini waterfall.
The gate to the elevated water tanks in this Inanam neighbourhood is not pad locked and the compound is overgrown with shrubs.
“This really grated on many of us as, for months prior to this, the supply to the area had been erratic.”
“While gaping at the spillage, I noticed that the grounds around the elevated platform, on which the tanks sat, were unkempt.”
She said the compound around the pump-house, in another part of the neighbourhood, was also in a similar state of disarray.
Dottie shared her observations with neighbour who claimed to have heard talk that teenagers had trespassed on the grounds.
“These youngsters had apparently climbed to the top of the elevated tanks to snap photos of the sunset on their handphones.”
She was made to understand that they managed to enter the compound as the gates were not padlocked.
“I fear other less innocent parties might access the grounds to vandalise the Department’s installations or steal the components.
“I hope the Department addresses this problem before anything unfortunate happens.”
The spokesman said a technical fault was to blame for the overflow in Unjana Kingfisher.
“The altitude valve, which controls the level of water in the tanks, was found to have been damaged,” he said.
“A valve to the tanks was temporarily closed to stop the overflow while we set about looking for the necessary spare part.
“A new valve was installed a few days later.”
He said the agency’s personnel confirmed that the supply was restored to consumers in the neighbourhood afterwards.
The spokesman said the Department’s staff would verify the homeowner’s claims about the gates to its properties not being properly secured.
“Any holes in the fence will be mended and the gates, to both the elevated tanks and pump-house, will be pad-locked,” he said.
Nevertheless, he urged the public to report any unusual incidents they witnessed, involving the Department’s properties, directly to the agency so that action could be promptly taken to deal with such problems.
Dottie’s grievance was initially forwarded to City Hall.
A City Hall spokesman acknowledged her concerns but said the agency was helpless to intervene on this matter.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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