Several roads in Bukit Mertajam to be closed for St Anne's feast

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Several roads around the Minor Basilica of St. Anne, here, will be closed to traffic from tomorrow (July 29) to Sunday in conjunction with the annual St Anne's Feast.

Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) police chief ACP Tan Cheng San said the closure of the roads will begin tomorrow from 9 am to 3 pm, and will involve the route from Bukit Mertajam to Kulim, Kedah and vice versa.

"The road to be closed will be Jalan Kulim from the Caltex petrol station heading towards the Taman Bukit Indah, Jalan Tenang, Jalan Taman B and Jalan Sepakat traffic light intersection.

"For road users from Kulim heading to Bukit Mertajam, they will be diverted to an alternative road, namely Jalan Kampung Baru towards Jalan Rozhan while from Kulim, they will be diverted to Jalan Sepakat and Jalan Taman B towards Jalan Kampung Baru," he said in a statement today.

He said the religious festival began on July 25, and traffic control by the police, including placing traffic officers at the main junctions, had been carried out but there were no road closures until tomorrow.

Tan said the church will hold a candlelight procession, starting at 7 pm tomorrow from the church's third gate headed along Jalan Berjaya and Jalan Kulim towards the church's main gate. The 1.8-kilometre procession will end at 11 pm.

He said the traffic control assignment for the celebration is expected to be completed by 3 pm on Sunday and the affected roads would then be fully reopened.

He hoped road users and the local community would cooperate to ensure smooth travel and public order.

According to the church's management, more than 50,000 people are expected to attend the five-day feast celebrated by Catholics.

-- BERNAMA