Residents want action to be taken against river polluters

Since early morning, residents near the Lorong Raja Muda Abdul Aziz One Stop Service Centre (PKS) had started queueing at the treated water tank provided by Air Selangor, each carrying buckets to be filled and brought home.

An elderly woman who wanted to be known as Pheng, 64, sighed that she had to carry three large bottles of water, each with a capacity of 9.5 litres, after the area she lived in Wangsa Maju, about 12 kilometres from here, also experienced a water supply cut due to water pollution in Sungai Gong, Rawang.

"It's hard, I am an old woman, unable to carry heavy weights. It would be difficult if every day is like this. I feel sorry for those who live in high rise units, if the elevator is broken, how to take the water home.

"I have heard many times those people (factory that cause pollution) polluting the river, if possible do not just sue this time," she told Bernama when met at the location.

Yesterday, Air Selangor chief executive officer Suhaimi Kamaralzaman said the water supply to some areas in the Klang Valley, which was cut off since Thursday, would need at least four days after the odour pollution reading dropped to zero Threshold Odour Number (TON) before starting to gradually recover.

On the same day, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari was reported to have said that the state government detected the pollution from a factory.

He said the factory was immediately sealed and compounded as it was believed to have released solvent into Sungai Gong which flows into Sungai Sembah, one of the main rivers for Sungai River.

Meanwhile, at the same place, Aznani Omar, 43, was also in concert with Pheng that the authorities should take action against those who polluted Sungai Gong.

"It has been three days since my house has no water and this is the second time I am fetching water since yesterday, it is difficult to take a shower.

‘’Some relatives staying nearby were also forced to take a bath using the water I fetched from here," said Aznani, who was willing to drive from Seri Gombak for about 25 minutes to the PKS.

Aznani, who lived in a household of six, said she was also lucky to have bought mineral water for daily use before it ran out in most supermarkets in the capital.

Apart from that, Jamil Aziz, 60, who lived near the PKS, said the water supply he fetched was for the use of his six family members, including a one-year-old grandson who lived with him in Setapak Jaya.

"The authorities should be concerned about the problems faced by the residents and I hope this problem can be resolved immediately so that the public does not suffer from prolonged lack of water," he added.

A Bernama monitoring of the place for about five hours found that the public did not stop queueing to collect water but maintained physical distancing and the use of face masks in accordance with standard operating procedures of the Recovery Movement Control Order.

Meanwhile, a survey at the Gombak branch of the Tunas Manja Group (TMG Mart) supermarket found that drinking water and mineral water were flying off the shelves and there was no stock left.

The store manager who wanted to be known as Azlan said panic purchase for drinking water had occurred since yesterday morning and the usual stock which could last 15 days, ran out in just two days.

"This branch does not plan to order more because we understand that the issue of water supply disruption is temporary," he said, adding that the daily sales of TMG wet goods at the branch also decreased by 40 per cent due to the water supply disruption.

The reporters' observations of restaurant operations in the Klang Valley found that some restaurants were closed with a 'no water' notice and some were open but offered a limited menu.