Alternative route to Puncak Setiawangsa opened

Sentul Deputy OCPD, Supt Othman Abu Bakar said an alternative route had been opened at Persiaran Setiawangsa for use by the local residents.

"The road is being manned by policemen and RELA members to ensure a smooth flow of traffic," he said here today.

He said the Malaysian Institute of Public Works (IKRAM) had stated that for the moment, active soil movement was still detected along the hill slopes.

"Seven units of bungalows at Puncak Setiawangsa are in the danger zone and have been vacated, while another 22 houses are safe and can be occupied," he said.

As of 3pm, 86 residents had registered at the operations centre which had been set up, he said.

Supt Othman said 13 units of double-storey shops and 52 units of terraced houses located 100 metres from the collapsed hill slope had been vacated.

A student of Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan Johor, Ahmad Zuriyad, 20, said now he could not claim his laundry which had been sent to a dhobi shop at Bukit Setiawangsa following the landslide.

"I had sent my laundry one day before the incident to be brought back to campus on Monday, but now I don't know what will happen.

"An employee of the dhobi shop had telephoned me saying that they were waiting for instructions from the police before allowing anyone to re-enter the shop," he told Bernama.