CITY HALL intends to give Lintasan Deasoka a facelift and hopes to finish cleaning the moat around the “Tugu Pahlawan (warrior monument)” at Ujana Rimba Tropika by the middle of July.
Lintasan Deasoka is the event space-cum-pedestrian plaza beside its headquarters, off Jalan Bandaran.
The agency’s action was prompted by feedback about the poor condition of the event space, as well as the lengthy-effort to attend to the moat.
A Kota Kinabalu office-worker remarked that the former area – including the area where the fountain and “Tugu Peringatan Malaysia (Malaysia Memorial monument)” were sited – was looking a bit grimy.
She was under the impression that the dirt may have become embedded in the surface of the floor due to the food vapours which permeated the space when the “Puasa” stalls were occupying Lintasan Deasoka.
The Inanam resident felt that it was a shame for the event space to be left in such a sorry state, especially as many tourists frequented this part of the City to be photographed against the fountain and beneath the monument.
A park-user, on the other hand, wanted to know why it was taking so long to attend to the moat. The Karamunsing resident, who goes for a walk regularly around the property, noticed that the cleaning work got underway earlier this year and, months later, had yet to be completed.
Both individuals provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding their grievances. This information was forwarded to the agency.
A spokeswoman for City Hall’s Landscaping Department said a check was made of Lintasan Deasoka, shortly after it was contacted by the media.
“Our personnel confirmed the unsightly condition of the floor at the event space and also the pavement in front of City Hall’s headquarters, off Jalan Tugu,” she said.
She said a 28-strong team scrubbed down these common areas and those along Jalan Gaya during the Api-Api Clean Up programme two weeks later.
Three of the agency’s tankers ferried water to assist with this effort, according to her.
“A sky-master was also deployed to allow our staff to attend to the decorative arch at the junction between Jalan Bandaran and Jalan Gaya.”
She said the agency was arranging to have Lintasan Deasoka washed down again with a special cleaning fluid, afterwhich a fresh layer of paint would be applied to the surface of the floor at the event space.
“The relevant section is in the process of appointing a contractor to repaint this pedestrian plaza.”
Where the moat at Ujana Rimba Tropika was concerned, the spokeswoman said a new contractor had assumed responsibility for cleaning the moat at the beginning of the month.
“The individual has been instructed to get through with this task by July 14,” she said.
“He/she has to repair and scrub the walls of the structure before applying a waterproof coat to the concrete surfaces inside.”
She said action to give the moat a thorough cleaning got underway on April 7, with the previous contractor completing about 40 per cent of the work before being let go on June 24.
“We originally set April 30-deadline for this effort, but later granted the original contractor an extension. However, he/ she didn’t have the suitable equipment to clear the moss and kept running into manpower problems.”
She said this contractor changed his workers on two separate occasions during the two-months plus which he/ she dealt with the moat
“One of personnel has been keeping tabs of the progress of the cleaning effort. We hope to have the moat looking more presentable to the public as soon as possible.”
