Taman Wahyu Residents Want Authorities To Clean Up Lakes

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A part of the lakes (foreground) littered with rubbish.KUALA LUMPUR: Residents at Taman Wahyu here today urged authorities to address the water pollution problem in the Wahyu and Nanyang lakes caused by rubbish, saying they fear flash floods may occur during heavy rain
Batu MP P Prabakaran, who met the residents today, said they had made several complaints in the past about the rubbish clogging the lakes and the stench
He said residents from a condominium building called Lakeville Residence overseeing the lakes had made similar complaints
Prabakaran said one of the lakes was supposed to be a flood retention pond but had shrunk in size after parts of it were reclaimed for development. Now the two lakes are divided only by a narrow water canal
He said rubbish from the Selayang wholesale market would also flow into Wahyu lake which goes all the way to Kepong in Kuala Lumpur
Prabakaran called for a holistic and sustainable solution to the problem. “They need to build a proper filtration system so rubbish cannot flow into the lakes,” he said
Residents of Taman Wahyu hold posters urging authorities to rid the lakes of pollution.He said he had met with officials from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), which was supposed to clean the lakes twice a month, but was told they lacked funds for the job
“Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa should form a task force to look into this and similar issues affecting lakes and ponds in Kuala Lumpur which may cause flooding during heavy rain,” he said
A resident, Vincent Lim, urged authorities to stop development along the two lakes which were meant to be gazetted as flood retention ponds
“As time goes on, the lakes become smaller because of development. This should not happen
“The residents’ health is at stake,” he said, adding that the rubbish was a breeding ground for mosquitoes
The residents also complained of a road closure where an MRT project was under construction, causing congestion during peak hours
They said Jalan Sibu had been closed for two years, forcing them to use a narrower road. - FMT

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