Litrak denies water channels caused Puchong floods

Lingkaran Trans Kota Holding Berhad (Litrak), the concessionaire of the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP) denied claims that flash floods caused along the LDP near the IOI Mall on Monday, was due to underground drain malfunction.

Litrak's Chief of Operations Richard Lim Kim Ong said only 45m of the two kilometre (2km) of the underground channel was managed by Litrak.

"For almost 14 years we have provided facilities for motorists and this is the first time such an incident had occurred.

"Various studies were carried out in detail. The flash floods could have been caused by the construction of an uneven water channel by Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan (LRT)," he told reporters after giving out Chinese New Year goodies to about 20 children from a welfare home, here, Saturday.

He added that the 68 millimeter of rain recorded on that day, which was an abnormal occurrence, could also have contributed to the cause since the water channels were unable to accommodate the rising quantity of water following a heavy downpour.

Richard Lim said a day before the incident, Litrak had carried out a scheduled maintenance.

He added that on Wednesday, the Selangor Economic Action Council (MTES) had during a meeting with Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ) and Syarikat Prasarana Berhad (Prasarana), directed both to clear the clogged drains to prevent a similar incident.

During the incident at about 6pm on Monday, about 140 vehicles were reported trapped in a car park near IOI Mall and traffic was brought to a standstill at several main roads in the area following flash floods that saw the LDP resemble a river.

The flashfloods hit KM21.36 and 23.50 of the southbound-side of the LDP at 5.22pm on Monday while the basement floors of IOI Mall Puchong, opposite the affected section, were also flooded.