CITY Hall has removed the blockage in the culvert located underneath a private land in Sentul in a bid to prevent flash floods from recurring in Taman Kaya/Springfield.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Amin Nordin Abd Aziz, who visited the site said, it was a temporary measure, pending works to divert the drain which could take two to three months.
“We have to move in. A few areas in Taman Kaya got flooded.
“We had a meeting on-site yesterday, and our legal department said we could move in to clear the culvert,” he said.
The drainage problems in the area began when the owners of the land, Alamrio Properties Sdn Bhd, blocked the culvert to continue with the construction of two apartment blocks with basement carpark. The project received development order and building plan back in 2014.
Since then, residents in the neighbouring land in Taman Kaya/Springfield claim, the flow of water in the drain had been interrupted. This, in turn, has resulted in stagnant water in the network of drains in the neighbourhood, bad smell and flash floods since April.
Alamrio Properties managing director Jerry Dinesh Pereira said no parties had claimed ownership of the drain since its discovery in 2013 when they did foundation works.
As a result, the project had to be put on hold, causing the company losses in the millions, he added,
“In a court case, DBKL was found negligent in issuing the development order and building plans, but the case is being appealed.