Published: Thursday November 12, 2009 MYT 9:03:00 PM
Protest over Botanic Gardens expansion project
By CHRISTINA CHIN
GEORGE TOWN: A group of 50 residents from the Park Avenue and Forest Field apartments hit out at the state for destroying existing greenery and failing to take into consideration the needs of those living nearby because of its Botanic Gardens expansion project.
Park Avenue Apartment Residents Association chairman M. Kunasekaran said residents living nearby were also disappointed with the state for not monitoring the development works.
He claimed that what was being constructed now was different from the original environmentally-friendly concept proposed by the previous administration.
“We are against the development of the new hawker complex as it ruins the surrounding beauty -- the location is just not strategic.
“The hawker centre’s toilet facilities have also caused the nearby Sungai Air Terjun to be polluted,” he told a press conference at the temporary hawker centre on Thursday.
He said the residents were worried about the cleanliness of the area once the new hawker centre is completed because it would attract flies and monkeys.
“The State Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) promised to build us an eight-feet high wall to separate the hawker centre and our homes but until today, nothing has been done.
“The Botanic Garden authorities should take into consideration our safety and comfort as well as the fate of the hawkers before starting the project,” he said, adding that the hawkers were also unhappy as they feared that their business would suffer at the new location.
He urged Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to look into the problems of the residents and hawkers urgently.
“The project was not well thought through.
“The state must ensure that the greenery here is retained because this is an important tourist attraction -- don’t just focus on modern developments that can destroy our natural surroundings.
“The hawkers’ income must also not be jeopardised when they move to a new place,” he said.
He added that the residents want the road leading to the Botanic Gardens to be widened as part of the expansion project.
“The Botanic Gardens is always packed during festivals like Thaipusam so the main thing that needs to be done is to widen the roads here,” he said.
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