Raven Kumar collecting rubbish along Sungai Parit Pinjam in Johor Baru.
THIRTEEN waste dumping hotspots have been identified along Sungai Skudai, Johor Baru.
Johor tourism, environment, heritage, and culture committee chairman K. Raven Kumar said the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) had collected more than 30 tonnes of waste from Sungai Skudai every month for the past two years.
“Logically, the amount of waste we find in the river should be getting less but the reality is that even when we aggressively continue to clean our rivers, irresponsible people will continue to pollute them.
“Despite this, punitive action is not an option because we want the awareness to come naturally,” he told reporters after visiting Sungai Parit Pinjam in Kampung Pasir, Johor Baru.
Raven Kumar added that the other dumping hotspots identified were in Taman Impian Emas, Jeti Nelayan Tampoi Utama, Kampung Pasir, Jeti Nelayan Pengkalan Rinting, Pulau Danga Bayu, and Kampung Bakar Batu.
PPR Melana Indah, Taman Damai Jaya, Kampung Laut, Kampung Pertanian, Kampung Separa, and Kampung Melayu Sengkang are also identified as waste dumping locations into Sungai Skudai.
“The waste that flows into Sungai Skudai also comes from Sungai Parit Pinjam.
“Our current approach is to address these issues from the source in hopes that we will finally make some progress,” he said, adding that DID collects about three tonnes of waste monthly from Sungai Parit Pinjam.
Raven said the important work now was to seek cooperation from all quarters to address the matter.
“How are we going to attract investors and tourists to visit Johor if our place looks like this?
“Public awareness is very important and we will continue to advocate for programmes that can instil responsibility among the people,” he said.
Asked whether he is planning to visit other polluted rivers in the state, Raven said he would look into the progress of the cleanup operations at Sungai Tukang Batu in Pasir Gudang.
“It is one of the polluted rivers in our state, and we will go there once we are satisfied with Sungai Skudai,” he added.
