SHAH ALAM: The Selangor state government has decided to conduct additional cloud seeding exercises to boost the level of water at its dams in view of the hot and dry spell which may prolong until September.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said currently cloud seeding exercises are carried out twice a day; once in the early morning and in the afternoon.
"We are concerned about our reservoirs (the level of water) and we have decided to increase the number of flights for cloud seeding if there is a need. We need more rain to ensure that there is more supply of water in our reservoirs.
"We have already spent RM5 million on cloud seeding exercises since last year until now which has contributed to some degree of success (in boosting water level). We are willing to spend more in case the dry season continues until September. These exercises will continue.
"The level of dams as well as rivers are monitored on an hourly basis every day. I also chair regular meetings to discuss water related issues and it has been brought up in the state economic action council meetings," said Azmin.
In a meeting last week, Azmin said several dams were reported to be at a low level and the state government had taken proactive measures to ensure continuous supply of water with the completion of the Hybrid Off River Augmentation System (HORAS 600) that can supply up to 600 million litres of water daily as well as water retention ponds in Bestari Jaya that would be pumped into rivers in the state.
Azmin said this when met during an anti-dengue campaign organised by the Shah Alam City Council in Section 28 today.
Section 28 was identified as one of the dengue hotspots and the problem was attributed to the absence of rubbish bins at the chutes of each block which had resulted in poor rubbish disposal.
Azmin had during the walkabout at the flats instructed Hebat Abadi Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad, to provide 1,000 rubbish bins costing a total of RM 1 million to low cost flats in the state that are dengue hotspots.
Azmin asked that residents cooperate and play a positive role with the authorities so that dengue cases can be lowered.
Meanwhile, Azmin called on Selangor folk to take advantage of the iDengue application that can be downloaded on smart phones where the latest information such as dengue hotspots, statistics as well as other related information are available and updated by the Health Ministry.