KUCHING: The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Sarawak is building a monsoon drain along Jalan Stakan to overcome the problems of flooding and soil erosion in the area.
Padawan Municipal Council (PMC) chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the flood mitigation project, which consisted of the construction of a reinforced concrete drain and reinforced wall costing RM7mil, was expected to be completed by next year.
“There will be a reinforced concrete wall, and at the end of the day when the project is completed, it will also act as a retaining wall for land on both sides of the drainage reserve.
“The houses, including Lot 68F, will be behind this wall and there should not be any erosion issue. In addition, the flooding issue will be reduced tremendously,” he explained.
Lo said this in response to a statement by Michael Kong, the special assistant to Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen, after witnessing the handover of appointment letters to the community here on Friday (Feb 3).
The Batu Kitang assemblyman acknowledged that there was soil erosion in the area as there is no concrete drain but just earth drain.
“There has been flooding and erosion has been there for the past many years. That is why there is this flood mitigation project to overcome the issue.
“Once the project is completed, we are going to see a much improved situation.”
Earlier, Kong in a statement urged the authorities to come up with an urgent plan for the safety of the residents along Jalan Stakan.
“In November 2022, a few trees were uprooted and fell into the river along Jalan Stakan. One of the trees even fell into the compound of Lot 68F, Jalan Stakan and DAP contacted MPP to remove all the trees. Unfortunately, nothing has been done since November 2022.
“These trees which fell into the river then became an obstruction to the flow of the river. The recent heavy rainfall during the Chinese New Year period then caused a substantial volume of water from the river to rush onto Lot 68F and caused the collapse of the retaining wall along this riverbank.
“As a result of this incident, a significant portion of the riverbank has since eroded away. The original retaining wall and riverbank were originally approximately 15 feet away from Lot 68F but since the incident, the last pillar of Lot 68F is now merely six feet away from the riverbank,” he said.
Kong said the frequent heavy rain in Kuching, especially during the current rainy season, raised a major concern because the river, which runs along Lot 68F, would overflow its banks.
“If this continues, we may see the land eroding further until the foundation and/or structure of the house is affected.”
