SUNGAI PETANI – After two years of struggling without continuous piped water supply, residents of Kg Sungkap Para near Bedong here heaved a sigh of relief when Kedah’s water authority promised water supply in tanks as an interim measure.
The decision was made during a meeting between Syarikat Air Darul Aman (Sada) and the residents at a community hall in the village yesterday.
Sada chief operating officer Zulazni Mohd Noor told the media that as a short-term measure, the agency will install two tanks and pumps at the village until they rectify the water pressure problems in the next six months.
He said the water pressure from nearby Kg Tai Seng reservoir is poor, making it difficult to push the water to the village which is on high ground.
“The problem can only be overcome completely when the water treatment plant at Bukit Selambau is completed in 2024,” he said.
The remote village, which is about 40km from Sg Petani town, consists of more than 40 families, mainly former oil palm plantation workers and Malay villagers.
Zulazni said the major underground water pipes in the area are more than 50 years old and leakages could have contributed to the low water pressure.
He added that he has agreed to residents’ requests for water supply between 6am and 8pm daily.
“I will also look into the complaints about water bills as the residents were issued bills although they did not get water supply,” he said.
During the meeting, Iskandar Siji, the headmaster of SK Sungkap Para, expressed unhappiness at Sada’s office in Sg Petani, claiming that the officers there did not react to his complaints regarding the water problems at the school.
He said his complaints to Sada’s headquarters in Alor Setar were also futile.
The meeting was arranged by NGO Malaysian Tamilar Kural president David Marshel.
Resident S. Janagi, 34, said the problem has existed since the movement control order began in March 2020.
There was supply for ten days in a month, and the residents needed to travel to Bedong or Sg Petani to bathe and wash dishes during the other 20 days, she said.
“In the last 15 days, there was no water supply, and I travelled to my mother’s house in Sg Petani to bathe and wash clothes, dishes and cooking utensils,” she said.
“Although it is my mother’s house, I feel uneasy when I go there for this purpose.”
David said he was happy that the residents have, for the time being, found a temporary solution for the problem. However, he expressed hope that Sada would resolve the problem fully, as a lack of water entails a health problem.
He added the residents also face a resettlement problem, as they are now on land belonging to an oil palm plantation.
There is also no mobile phone coverage by the main telecommunication companies, he noted. – The Vibes, April 28, 2022
