By William Isau
SIBU, June 20: The 10,000-odd residents in Sibu Jaya and Durin are still facing water problems which first cropped up about three to four years ago.
Among those frustrated is Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Dudong branch chairman Datuk Teo Boon Siew who emphatically urged the relevant agencies to resolve the issues fast.
He said as far as he could remember, the water supply problem has been longstanding, since about three to four years ago.
“The residents have filed several complaints at our service centre and even (made) to the Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, who is also the Dudong assemblyman, Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, during his visit to several longhouses in conjunction with the Gawai Dayak celebration.
“The failure of the relevant agencies to resolve the issue has caused backlash from the residents to our service centre as well as the local representative. They thought that we did not do our job right,” Teo told reporters after presenting cheques from Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) totalling RM1.5 million to two religious bodies today.
He also wanted the agencies involved to explain to the residents the reason behind delays in work to fix the problem.
“The pipes have been laid on the roadside and water interruption notices have been issued several times (for the pipe installation), but until now it seems that the project has yet to be completed.
“So we hope that the relevant agencies come forward and provide an explanation to the residents to keep them calm and not put full blame on the local representative,” he added.
Phase 2 of the Kanowit Water Supply Project, which commenced in 2022, was expected to be completed in the same year; however, it was delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Based on a news report last year, the project, costing about RM63.5 million, was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
The project is divided into three components involving the construction of the Durin booster station, a high-level water tank with a capacity of 3.5 MLD in Bukong Jagoi, and the installation of a 55km-long pipe from the Salim water plant in Sibu to Kanowit.
When completed, the project is expected to increase water pressure and reliability of water supply in the Durin, Kanowit, Nibong Tada, Machan, and Sibu Jaya areas. — DayakDaily
