KUCHING: The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), together with relevant agencies, will continue providing relief to communities affected by the prolonged dry season.
SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the Sarawak Welfare Department (JKM) had distributed drinking water assistance in 1,943 cases from Jan 1 to Aug 26, benefiting 49,523 families and 225,822 individuals statewide.
A total of 450,584 boxes of drinking water had been distributed, involving RM7.73 million in expenditure.
“As for the Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB), it continues to deploy water tankers and contracted lorries to deliver water directly to affected areas.
“From Aug 18 to 29, a total of 98 water tankers and lorries made 680 trips, delivering 3.34 million litres of water across five divisions, namely Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong (including Lachau), Limbang, and Miri,” he said.
Uggah said this during a press conference at Wisma Bapa Malaysia today (Aug 31).
The Deputy Premier noted that JBALB had presented a delivery mechanism to supply affected communities, which is being further enhanced.
“The department requested RM400,000 from the committee to purchase water tanks and set up central collection centres as soon as possible.
“The committee has approved this request because we are deeply concerned about the situation. SDMC will continue to closely monitor water supply conditions across the state and coordinate additional assistance where required,” he added.
