SPAOH: The Sarawak governmenthas approved RM29.6 million to clear clogged rivers in the bid to reduce floods especially in the state’s rural areas.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the proposal was to implement this soon in as many rivers as possible.
“It may not be possible for us to include as many rivers as possible, but we do hope to do what we can before the next monsoon season sets in,” he told the media after visiting several major projects to check on their progress on Saturday (March 25).
On the recent flash flood occurrences in Kuching and other towns in the state, Uggah said this had been discussed with the Ministry of Public Health, Local Government and Housing.
He said the flash flood had been due to blocked drainage system and there had been suggestion from the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) which also included clearing some of the drains.
“We are still sorting this out as some of the drains are under the jurisdiction of the DID, some under the Public Works Department (PWD) and others. The government hopes to find especially long term solutions besides the short term ones,” he said.
Uggah also said when he was the Federal Minister of Environment, he had managed to implement only one package of the flood mitigation programme in Kuching.
“Since this has not been continued, the impact is not there yet. We are still waiting for it to implement the rest.
“This flashflood problem is not new, but we are taking different approaches to this very complicated issue,” he added.
