Wednesday August 26, 2009
Residents put idle land to good use
By SALINA KHALID and STUART MICHAEL
SOME residents in Section 8, Shah Alam, have found their own plot of land to carry out farming under Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) high tension cables near Bukit Cerakah.
The land is behind the residents houses and outsiders were discouraged from applying for the plots.
Fun time: Anglers having a great time fishing for free at the pond. Residents had applied to allow the land to be used for farming and have planted fruit trees and vegetables at the site. They have even cordoned off part of an existing pond to create a catfish farm.
A resident, who wished to be known only as Rock, said he had been approached by the JKKK chairman who asked if he was interested in a plot of land behind his house.
“I now have a small plot of land where I plant fruits trees and vegetables.
“Some of the other residents also wanted to farm and applied for permission from TNB, with recommendation from the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and the JKKK.
“It is a good idea as the land is being put to use instead of being left idle,” Rock said.
Rock also said the MBSA had used part of the land as a nursery.
Cash crops: Some serai and banana trees that have been planted at the site. A check revealed that there were huge plots of land where banana trees, starfruit trees, serai, bayam and chili plants could be seeing growing.
On weekends, many anglers brought along their families to fish in the pond, which is said to have many varieties of fish including ikan haruan (Snakehead) and catfish.
Ten years ago when the land was part of Bukit Cerakah, freshwater prawns could be caught in the pond but at that time, anglers would have to slip under the fence to access the spot.
Now, the fence is wide open with motorcycles and cars allowed inside the area.
All set up: The area is home to many small plots that have been turned into farms. MBSA public relations officer Shahrin Ahmad said the area was TNB reserve land and any activities carried out there would need its approval.
He admitted that, in most cases, instead of leaving the land idle, nearby residents were allowed to carry out short-term activities like planting cash crops at the site.
However, he stressed that no permanent fixtures or big tree species were allowed to be planted on the land.
“MBSA will give a recommendation to the TNB to show that we are in support of a particular activity,” Shahrin said, adding that other residents would also have to agree with the planned activity.
Previously, the council had even allowed residents with idle, unused land in their neighbourhoods to turn it into something useful like an orchard. This was the case with residents of Taman Puteri Subang in Section U5, Shah Alam.
The retention pond, which had turned into an eyesore, was put to good use as an orchard.
The 1.5ha plot of land is being turned into a community orchard for everyone to enjoy.
Plant species to be planted at the site include such rarities as the nam-nam, yellow rambutan, cermai and asam kandis.
Residents are also allowed to grow vegetables for their own consumption at the orchard.
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