Wednesday June 13, 2007

Dataran basement car park still flooded

KUALA LUMPUR: The basement car park of Dataran Merdeka continues to be a watery grave for many vehicles.

The car park, hit by flash floods during the heavy downpour on Sunday night, is still inaccessible with water levels receding only slightly despite round-the-clock pumping by City Hall.

It is learnt that it will take at least another two days before the water is completely pumped out.

A City Hall official said once the water had been pumped out, they would begin towing all vehicles out and salvaging items from the shops inside.

“Right now, we can’t really do anything or assess the situation in the basement until everything is cleared,” said the official.

Asked about compensation, especially for traders, the official said:

“Let’s be logical here. It would be hard for the Government to entertain every single claim made by people who have suffered losses in floods.”

Traders and residents in Masjid India, Masjid Jamek and Jalan Raja, however, said any form of compensation would help them.

A trader who only wished to be known as Lim said his stall had literally floated away in waist-high floodwaters.

“At least nine other traders that I know in Masjid India also lost their stalls. This is not the first time such floods have hit either,” said the 45-year-old.

Textile shop attendant R. Rani, 50, was equally frustrated, as he has had to auction off his wares at a 60% loss.

“We’re not the only ones doing this. As you can see, everyone else on the street has also been forced to auction off their ‘drowned’ goods at a cheaper price,” she said.

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