GEORGE TOWN – The results from an independent laboratory have shown that the Sg Kereh pollution is indeed caused by pig farming in Kg Selamat, Tasek Gelugor.
The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), Penang Sustainable Natural Heritage Association (Lekas) and Sg Kereh Pollution Protest Action Body, in a statement today, said they appointed the lab to conduct a water quality analysis last December.
“Based on the laboratory analysis report, there is evidence to conclude that the main cause of Sg Kereh’s pollution is pig farming activities in Kg Selamat,” said Lekas chairman Zikrullah Ismail.
“The parameters tested were biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, ammoniacal nitrogen, total suspended solid, and E. coli – all recorded high readings in Sg Kereh.”
He said the analysis results from samples taken at four locations of the river showed the water quality index at Class 4, or “very polluted”.
The evidence bolsters previous statements issued by the Sg Kereh Pollution Protest Action Body that the river’s pollution is caused by pig farming.
The action body’s chairman, Abdul Razib Abdul Rahim, said pig waste continues to be discharged into Sg Kereh despite many groups having called for a permanent solution to the issue.
“We would like to emphasise that this action body will continue to defend the villagers who have been facing this pollution issue for more than 40 years, either by lodging a police report, or more drastically, a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.”
CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said it hopes that with the continuous monitoring of river water quality, implementation of a zero-waste discharge system by pig farmers, and enforcement of the Pig Breeding (Penang) Enactment 2016 and Pig Breeding Licensing Regulations (Penang) 2020, the problem of Sg Kereh’s pollution can be resolved.
Last year, The Vibes reported that nearly 50 pig farms in Kg Selamat are believed to be operating without a licence for more than four decades.
The situation has resulted in over 1,000 residents, especially in neighbouring Kg Tok Bedu, suffering the stench emanating from Sg Kereh, which is polluted by effluents from these farms.
The issue caught the attention of Water and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, who has ordered the establishment of the Sg Kereh Pollution Task Force of Pig Livestock Farms in Kg Selamat. – The Vibes, February 4, 2021
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