TUARAN – Residents of Kg Rugarding here have urged the authorities to investigate and act against those responsible for dumping chemicals into Sg Lingkibing, which they allege has been going on for the past five years.
A villager, Matnih Teu, 57, said that the chemical dumping has become more rampant over the past few months and has caused the polluted river water to emit an unpleasant odour.
The stench can be detected from his residence, located 50m from the riverbank and apart from that, the river would also turn black with an oily sheen, killing fish, he said.
“Dumping (of chemicals) is not a daily occurrence, it happens at certain times and the Environment Department is aware and has taken water samples. But after that nothing has happened and this continues,” he said when met at the village.
He added that the chemicals were believed to have been dumped by factories and a residential construction site near the village.
“The river stretches till Sg Gayang where the villagers scour for clams, catch fish, crabs, prawns but now if the water is oily and smelly, it is difficult to find food,” Matnih said.
The same concern was shared by Sidup Latip, 60, as river pollution has become rampant there with no stern action being taken by authorities to solve the problem till now.
He said the pollution not only affected the river ecosystem but also affected the health of villagers, who complain of sore throats, coughing, dizziness and nausea.
“I suggest that the parties (factories) involved set up ponds to treat their manufacturing waste before dumping it into the river,” he said, adding that he believed the pollution involved the dumping of thousands of litres of chemicals.
Meanwhile Rosviny Manap, 45, expressed her concern over the chemical dumping as heavy rains would cause the chemical waste to travel downstream through the village on its way to the sea.
The civil servant said even though her house was located 100m away from the river, she could still smell the stench, which has become a daily affair as the villagers struggle to live in such conditions.
She said the relevant authorities should take the issue seriously and help the villagers find the best solution to ensure the problem would not recur.
“I hope there will be action by the authorities because it makes no sense to release these chemicals in the area because this village has many residents, and although some officials do come, they end up offering no solutions,” she said.
On Monday, the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department’s hazmat detector detected the presence of scheduled waste material in the river water, after receiving an emergency call from MERS 999 at 6.34pm before a team was deployed to the river.
Meanwhile, a survey found that the river appeared blackish with oil and emitted a foul odour. – Bernama, May 12, 2022
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