KUCHING: Batu Kitang Assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang expressed his deepest gratitude to the Sarawak State Government and also to the Chief minister of Sarawak for the massive allocation of budget towards flood mitigation works, amounting to almost RM100 million for the whole state of Sarawak .
He added a substantial amount has been allocated for Padawan Municipal Council including Batu Kawa and Batu Kitang constituencies.
He said it will certainly bring the greatest sense of relief for those who have experienced the aftermath caused by these flash floods.
“Water is truly challenging force of nature that is arduous to harness and outtakes considerable flood management planning to achieve an efficient drainage system before our city flourishes into a fully developed one.
“We must remember that the existing that old drains are now being incapacitated due to new developments upstream and there is an urgent, dire need to restructure them and to build bigger rivers. Forward planning is so important – similar to reverberate lines that has been successfully implemented in our city,” Lo said at State Legislative Assembly sitting yesterday.
Likewise, he said the proposal of having LRT services across the city is a testament of the farsightedness of the chief minister.
Comparable to the sewerage lines, he said the LRT lines would also need to be systematically and strategically placed without impinging on boundaries of structures and instructions.
“ I hereby take this opportunity to congratulate our chief minister on his foresightedness to plan ahead for the betterment of our beloved city,” he added.
He therefore requested from the State Government on the development of the RM2.9b regional flood mitigation plans, which involved building of dams for water storage during the dry seasons, as well as for water retention upstream to regulate flood waters during the wet seasons.
This project addresses major flooding issues, the kind that occurs, once in fifty years, he added.
According to him, in 2015, Kampung Bunga Rampai in Batu Kitang was granted a 12-acre piece of land which could accommodate 122 affordable houses, for the people in that area, with priorities given to those afflicted with flooding issues.
“Having been constantly on the ground with my constituents, I have come to realise that more than 50 per cent of the Kampung houses, which approximate to about 200 houses , along Jalan Landeh are subjected to annual flash floods.
“It would be tremendously outstanding if we could come up with a piece of land somewhere on higher ground which cloud be turned into affordable housing estates for the people who have been awaiting from the government to relieve them from their present dire housing conditions.
“These people in my Batu Kitang constituency have been through a lot and I hope to be able to do something to help them,” he said.
