BALAI RINGIN: Authorities have been urged to take swift action against those responsible for the recent logjam in Sungai Krangan.
Following reports received by Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) officers, Balai Ringin assemblyman Datuk Snowdan Lawan said indiscriminate bulldozing and prior site clearing by plantation company in the upstream had led to accumulation of floating debris, drifting deadwoods, and a logjam after the heavy rain.
“This is a grave concern because it threatens the water intake point (WIP) that supplies water to the water treatment plant in Balai Ringin,” he said in a statement today.
He said the river serves as an important means for villagers who rely on it for their income and for transporting their catch to Balai Ringin town daily.
“Now, they can’t do both. This logjam certainly affects their daily livelihood,” he said.
He warned that if the logjam persists, it could result in flooding of nearby low-lying settlements and damage to the villagers’ crops.
According to reports from NREB officers who inspected the area on Aug 31, some sections of Phase 2 of the plantation area encroached the 8-kilometre radius of the water catchment area from the WIP in Balai Ringin.
“This follows complaints from the villagers, especially those from Kampung Melayu Balai Ringin who had reported the issue to the Balai Ringin sub district officer, headed by Sarawak Administration Officer (SAO) Mohamad Adam Abdullah,” he said.
Reports have indicated that some cultivated area have already been submerged due to irregular river flow.
“Therefore, I urged the relevant authority concerned to spring into action to deal with the culprits who caused this logjam,” he said.
He said there is a need to address the ‘man-made disaster’ and to identify and rectify the root causes rather than attribute the issue solely to weather conditions.
