Residents of Taman Teluk Pulai are against MBDK’s plan to build a flood retention pond at the site of a playground in their neighbourhood.
A signboard put up by Klang Royal City Council (MBDK) of a plan to build a flood retention pond in Taman Teluk Pulai has residents fuming.
The proposed site straddling Solok Sepat 2 and Lorong Sepat 3 is currently a neighbourhood park and playground.
Residents said the plan was premature and lacked feasibility studies.
They also claimed recent flash floods late last year in the area had been resolved by MBDK’s efforts to clean and desilt monsoon drains.
Teluk Pulai Residents Association chairman Santokh Singh, 60, said he was not informed about the retention pond plan.
“When the December 2021 floods took place, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari visited Taman Melawis, a low-lying, flood-prone area next to Taman Teluk Pulai, where he announced there would be allocations for a flood mitigation plan.
“But barring a few houses nearby, we don’t experience bad flooding since MBDK cleaned the drains,” he told StarMetro.
Santokh said residents met with MBDK’s Engineering Department officers on Jan 10 to protest the pond plan.
He worried over the possible negative impacts that could arise, especially in terms of the health, safety and comfort of residents.
“At the meeting, the representative from the consulting company could not even show proof of their ‘overall feasibility study of the retention pond’.
“If the drain maintenance work continues according to schedule, there will be no flooding in this area,” he stressed.
Santokh said MBDK was already building a flood retention pond in Jalan Serampang 1 in Taman Teluk Pulai.
“How many ponds do we need here?
“I already informed our zone area councillor Chris Lee that maintaining the drainage was a good initiative to mitigate floods,” he added.
Another resident, Rajinder Singh, 63, expressed displeasure with MBDK for putting up the sign without informing residents.
“A proper study should be done and they must find the root of the problem, the reason why water is not flowing properly in low-lying Lorong Sepat 5, instead of announcing that a pond would solve our problem,” he said.
Gan Tiong Eng, 71, was also displeased by MBDK’s lack of transparency in making this decision without residents’ input.“The concern is addressing the different water levels in different parts here,” said Gan.
Amarjit Singh, 45, a father of five, moved to Taman Teluk Pulai five years ago.
“I bought this house because of the nice park and playground opposite it.
“I don’t want the property to drop in value because of this retention pond,” he said.
S. Gunarasa, 80, had complained numerous times about MBDK not cleaning monsoon drains behind his house in Lebuh Sembilan 2.
“Now, it is better because the drains have been cleaned and desilted, but frequent maintenance must be carried out.
“If water can flow into Sungai Klang, there will be no stagnant water,” he said.
When contacted, Lee said if the majority of residents were opposed to the retention pond plan, he would bring it up with the city council.
“Since this issue concerns the entire community, I will send the message to MBDK,” he said.
MBDK Corporate Communications Department director Norfiza Mahfiz said it would wait for the Engineering Department director to comment on this issue.
