RAIN and thunderstorms bring sleepless nights to the residents of the kampung in Hulu Langat, Selangor, near the site where the RM1.55 billion East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) is under construction.

Residents of Felcra Semungkis, Kg Sg Gahal and Kg Sg Michu have endured a year of flash floods and landslides which started after the EKVE’s construction began in September 2016, and with the current rainy season, are worried that more disaster awaits.

A stop-work order by the Department of Environment has been in place since October 24 this year while remedial works are being carried out, but residents want the developer EKVE Sdn Bhd to speed up the rehabilitation work. 

The developer is to hold a press conference today on the status of the project as well as the outcome of a recent town hall meeting with residents.

For Isa Yahya, 51 the sounds of rain are warning enough for him to alert the families whose homes are close to the Sg Gahai riverbank to brace for floods.

“Those living next to the riverbank are the ones that are the most affected. During heavy rain, the water will overflow from the river causing the homes to be inundated.

“The water rose more than 1m and caused a lot of damage to the homes here,” he told The Malaysian Insight on a recent visit there.

Isa, who sells nasi lemak at a stall in the area, said they also worried about soil erosion along the riverbank.

“Heavy rains that swell the river have eroded parts of the land where the houses stood. The soil just can’t handle that kind of volume. This is not good for the families living there.”

Another resident Ibrahim Ahmad, 65 who lives next to the riverbank, is cautious when it starts to rain during the night.

“If it rains at night we can’t sleep. We have to be alert in case the area floods.

“So far, the area has flooded about five times and the worst was during the fasting month.

“All the new items, such as furniture, clothes, electric appliances and other items bought for Hari Raya were damaged by the floods.

“There are 26 families living here and we estimate each family would have suffered losses between RM1,000 and RM3,000,” he said.

EKVE should admit that the floods were caused by its project and compensate the residents here, Ibrahim said.

“I’m sure there is an allocation for incidents such as this.”

No floods prior to highway work

The EKVE will be a dual carriageway with toll plazas at five interchanges in Sg Long, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Hulu Langat, Ampang and Ukay Perdana.

It was given the green light by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council in August 2015 and had been gazetted in the 2011 MPAJ Draft Local Plan for 2020.

It drew controversy earlier when the Selangor Forestry Department said it would degazette 106.65ha of forest reserve for the highway’s construction. Environmental group WWF Malaysia protested that it would harm water catchment areas.

The EKVE is meant to form part of the larger Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (KLORR) and to ease traffic congestion on the Middle Ring Road Two (MRR2) by enabling traffic between Kepong, Selayang and Gombak, and Bangi, Kajang and Subang to avoid passing through Kuala Lumpur. 

While they had suffered massive loses over the year, the residents are hoping that those responsible will look into their grouses before any untoward incident occurs.

Located less than 2km away from Kg Sg Gahal is Kg Sg Michu, which is another flood-prone area.

Halim Mohd Sedek, 61, who has been living here for the last 15 years, said the area never suffered from floods until the highway project began. His home was hit twice by floods in June and November.

“After I retired, I decided to move back to my kampung. There have been no floods all these years but flash floods began when construction on the EKVE started.

“This, I believe, is caused by the construction on a hillslope near our homes. When it rains, the run-off will flow down into Sg Michu and cause it to overflow.”

He incurred losses of up to RM70,000 because of the flood in November.

“Five cars, including my son-in-law’s and my old Proton Saga, were damaged in the floods. The others were household items. I have already made two police reports and submitted my claims for compensation to the Hulu Langat District Council.

“I’m only getting pension of RM400 a month. I hope they will look into my claims.”

Halim also built a 1m-high cement wall to keep out the muddy water.

“We are not the only ones affected. There are more than 12 families here effected by the floods,” he said.

Sharif Sarban, 76, said his home was flooded twice and the riverbank where his hut stood was also damaged.

“The hut is where I make lemang (glutinous rice cooked in bamboo) for my friends and relatives. The floods had damaged my hut and the stove where I cook the lemang.

“We suspect the cause of the floods is from the EKVE construction. I’m not asking for any compensation, but I want those responsible to come and rehabilitate the river and prevent any more floods.”

Under the stop-work order, EKVE is only allowed to carry out remedial works on soil erosion and silt control at the site.

Sharif said a few contractors came months ago and informed the residents that they would build a retaining wall. However, work has yet to start.

The Malaysian Insight reported that more than 200 residents of Felcra Semungkis said the construction of the mega-highway has caused flash floods, damaged roads and landslips since development started a year ago.

They said the worst incident occurred on November 11 at three religious schools and an orphanage where 250 pupils – aged seven to 17 – are studying. The floods destroyed the children’s clothes, school books, furniture, appliances and other items.

Numerous complaints from residents led to the DOE issuing a stop-work order in October which is still in place until the developer completes remedial and rehabilitation works.

Earlier this month, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Jaafar confirmed that the stop-work order was still active and would only be lifted when the ministry was satisfied with the remedial work.

“The stop order was issue on October 24, 2017 following the complaints and failures of the EKVE control of erosion at the project site.

“Since then, the Selangor DOE has been monitoring the projects every week and the earthworks and highway construction activities on the entire EKVE project site were completely stopped.

“Only rehabilitation is being carried out. The stop-work order issued is still in force and will continue until the ministry is satisfied with all the remedial measures, erosion control is implemented under the proposed ‘best management practices’ (BMPs) and the project developers will have to produce proof and pass the field checks by DOE and Geosciene and Mineral Department,” he said in a statement. – December 15, 2017.