(Left) Chitra Devi (centre) with her children says the project is just a few steps from her house.
RESIDENTS of Taman Bamboo in Kuala Lumpur are having sleepless nights about a development project in their midst.
Jacob Subramaniam said that when piling work commenced before the Covid-19 pandemic, cracks began appearing on his roof.
“I feared the roof would collapse,” said Jacob, adding that the project was halted during the pandemic.
However, the residents have seen machinery in the area, indicating works might resume.
He said the distance from the construction site to houses along Jalan Cenderuh 5 was only 30m.
Resident Muthukumar Ramasamy claimed a tributary would be diverted to accommodate the project and a monsoon drain would be built mere metres from their homes.
Chitra Devi S. Balakrishnan, whose house is located at the junction of Jalan Cenderuh 5 and Jalan Cenderuh 6, said the construction site was just a few steps away from her home.
“There is a drain running along the back of my house to this site.
“I am anxious to know what is being done to ensure this drain will not be blocked,” she said.
The 1.21ha retention pond with a built-in sump to direct excess water into Sungai Batu.
Residents said flooding used to be common in the area until Sungai Batu nearby was deepened and an embankment built.
They said they had not been able to view the environment and traffic impact assessment reports for the project.
Residents at Jalan Cenderuh 4 also complained that muddy water from the site had entered their porches.
When StarMetro visited the site, a supervisor said a temporary drain had been created to divert water that had pooled there into a nearby drain.
A 1.21ha retention pond with a built-in sump has also been built to direct excess water into Sungai Batu from the site.
When contacted, the developer assured they were committed to ensuring that best practices were adhered to during the planning and construction stages of their projects.
A spokesperson said the developer had been engaging with residents since May on their concerns.
On residents’ fears that the building of a monsoon drain would cause floods, the developer’s representative said it would be 12.19m from houses along Jalan Cenderuh 5.
“It will be built in accordance with requirements to handle upstream and project discharge.
“The relevant authorities had required that the new monsoon drain be built as a flood mitigation measure for the area.
“As Jalan Cenderuh 5 is narrow, Kuala Lumpur City Hall said the it must be widened.
“The new monsoon drain will run parallel to the widened road,” said the spokesperson, adding that remedial actions, as and when necessary, would be taken to mitigate stagnant water and prevent flooding in the area.
The company representative said court proceedings had commenced to evict squatters and demolish structures on the land to facilitate the road-widening and monsoon drain projects.
Currently, the project is still in the planning stage.
