GEORGE TOWN – The Penang government will be carrying out a study on the slopes along Lorong Bukit Kukus after fears of another landslide.
State Infrastructure and Transport committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the scope of the study will include analysis of rock slope stability and soil investigation in the surrounding area.
“In addition, we will consider doing a rock-mapping study. The state government will be guided by the reports and recommendations for our next course of action,” he said in a statement today.
Zairil said when the slopes first showed signs of instability more than 20 years ago, steel netting was used to cover the rock slopes.
Soil nailing was installed and a wall was constructed to strengthen the slopes.
“In 2016, the council erected a centre median after some boulders came loose. The median was to prevent them from rolling downhill.”
On Monday, The Vibes reported residents of Grandview Heights apartment in Lorong Bukit Kukus, Paya Terubong, had been living in fear of a landslide as erosion had taken place in the area over the last few weeks.
The rainy season also posed a threat as it might hasten a landslide.
A resident who has been living in Grandview Heights since 1997, said the Penang Island City Council closed off part of the main road in front of the building and Bukit Saujana apartment block after a rockfall in 2018.
The resident said there was no follow-up action and the route still closed.
Two years ago, a landslide struck the nearby Jalan Bukit Kukus, killing nine foreign workers at a construction site. – The Vibes, November 4, 2020
