On May 19, my friend Kundan Lal and I spent about three hours visiting flooded areas in Bercham and Sungai Rokam. The worst hit area was Taman Bercham Impian. When we went there we saw the residents drying their belongings in front of their houses and road. It was pitiful. The residents here are Malays.
I spoke to an elderly lady who said she has been living here for 17 years and there are floods every year. Once in three years or so it peaks. This year it was bad. On Friday the residents were provided lunch. She has sent her car for repairs. No one has visited them and they have not received any aid.
I spoke to another Malay guy. He is from Lenggong, is working in a factory and has been staying here for 16 years. There are many abandoned houses. He informed us that people who rented houses have left the place. People with their own houses are staying here. These people feel they have been forgotten and accept their fate.
The Chinese stay on the other side of the main road and that place was also flooded and people are building walls.
There are a number of pumps installed by JPS, Drainage and Irrigation Dept around the area. I don’t think these pumps can cope with the volume of water.
I was not able to contact any DAP guys. We spent some time looking for their service centre, but could not find it.
We went to the place in Sungai Rokam which was flooded. Four new pumps have been installed in Sungai Rokam. The guys were still working.
One of the workers said that the pumps are working. The monsoon drain next to the river is not clean. Sand from the river had back flowed into the concrete drain.
Since I have visited the sites, I will make an appointment with JPS and MBI to find out what action they are taking.
A. Jeyaraj
