PENANGITES have been told not to throw their rubbish into drains and rivers.
State Works, Utilities and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said he noticed that there were lots of rubbish in the rivers during his working visits.
“Penangites love to throw their rubbish into drains and rivers. This bad habit will clog up drains and cause floods.
“The maintenance cost to clean the rivers is high.
“Tax money is used to pay for the maintenance cost and it burdens everyone. Please keep our drains and rivers clean,” he told a press conference at the Sungai Dua JKKK hall in Butterworth today.
Zairil visited five flood-prone areas in Permatang Berangan and Sungai Dua on the mainland today.
The locations he visited were Kampung Desa Puri in Permatang Berangan, a village near Simpang Tiga in Permatang Berangan, Pengkalan Jarak in Permatang Berangan, Sungai Merbau Kudung in Sungai Dua and Sungai Pengkalan Machang in Sungai Dua.
Zairil said several measures were mooted to address flood problems in those areas.
“The state has allocated about RM1.778 million until November this year to address flood problems in Tasek Gelugor. The allocation was set aside for 25 flood mitigation projects.
“Most of our rivers are downstream from Kedah. We will be at the receiving end of Kedah’s flood problems, if Kedah does not address its flood issues.
“This is one of the problems we faced,” he said, hoping that the Federal Government could assist on the matter.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad