ARAU: Flood woes in Tebing Tinggi are expected to be resolved in December when the Timah Tasoh West Flood Diversion project is ready, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man said.
He said the people affected by floods should be patient as the RM260 million project would be completed on time.
He said the flood in Tebing Tinggi, the worst affected area in the state, was caused by the construction of a bridge linking Kampung Wang Besar to Tebing Tinggi.
"The construction of canal has been completed but the problem is with the 500m bridge.
“We cannot speed up the bridge construction due to several problems including the rainy spell for the past several weeks.
"The bridge construction is progressing on schedule and expected to be ready by December," he said after visiting flood evacuees in Padang Nyu relief centre today.
The number of flood evacuees climbed to almost 1,500 this evening and is possibly the worst flood in Perlis in three years.
Tebing Tinggi residents have claimed that that the flood was caused by the delay in the Timah Tasoh West Flood Diversion project.
Azlan said water could not flow smoothly as the bridge was not ready.
“If we release the water through the tunnel, it may cause erosion to the concrete wall of the bridge,” he said.
"Another problem is that the project consultant has failed to carry out a full assessment on the condition of the area which forced changes to the original job scope.”
He said with the changes, the state government needed to give new approval before works could resume and this took time.
As of 7pm today, 1,491 people from 411 families sought shelter at 16 flood relief centres in Padang Besar, Arau and Kangar.
Earlier, Kangar member of parliament Shaharuddin Ismail called for the state government, the Drainage and Irrigation Department and contractor to expedite the project.
He said the service of the contractor should be terminated if the project was delayed for many times.
Mahidah Ismail, 40, said her house had never been flooded even during continuous rains before.
"Since the project started, my house has been hit by flash floods," she said.
Her neighbour Norhidah Mohmad, 56, said she was fed-up with the hassles of leaving her home every time there was a flood.
The today’s flood had also forced a road linking Wang Ulu to Kuala Perlis to be closed to traffic and a petrol station in Arau to stop its operation.
It was reported that the project, which is 80 per cent complete, was delayed following a technical problem at Bukit Wai as the contractor has encountered difficulties in building a tunnel.
Translated from Berita Harian