LIPIS: Residents in Kampung Beletik here have expressed worry over the water quality at nearby Sungai Telang, which turned grey last week.
Residents said they suspect the river, which is emitting a muddy smell, could have been polluted by gold mining activities in the area.
Village chief Nazahar Md Yusof said residents are concerned about their health as they rely on the river for drinking water and daily use.
“Two or three days ago, the river water turned murky. We are not certain what caused this, but we were made to understand that there are (gold) mining activities further upriver.
“We hope that the authorities will check if there are (gold mining) activities because it is affecting our main source of water,” he said when met recently.
Villager Nurhamizan Ishak, meanwhile, said the river's foul smell has raised doubts over its cleanliness.
“The villagers fully rely on it (Sungai Telang) especially when there are water disruptions. We wash our clothes, plates and utensils at the river and we carry pails of water back to our homes.
“The government must monitor this matter closely and find out why there is a change in river’s colour and smell,” he added.
Meanwhile, Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil urged the government to clamp down on illegal mining operations. here.
“Gold mining threatens the environmental balance by polluting rivers when cyanide (used when extracting gold from ore) gets into the water,” she said.
She added that the authorities must take immediate action as cyanide can cause cancer if consumed.
“What is more worrying is the fact that cancer is something difficult to detect and villagers may not realise it until it is too late,” she said.
She added that people who come into direct contact with cyanide-polluted rivers can develop skin diseases.
Shariffa, however, praised Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar for addressing the pollution in Sungai Telang.
On Dec 25, Junaidi ordered the Pahang Department of Environment (DoE) to collect water samples from the river for analysis.
The directive was issued after the minister received complaints from members of the public earlier this month.
The state DoE is currently probing the alleged gold mining operations at Tersang Forest Reserve.
Action, said Junaidi in a statement, is being taken under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 to curb the pollution.
Junaidi also ordered an immediate halt to all mining activities in the area pending the rehabilitation of the river.
Operators who refuse to abide by the stop order, he said, can receive a fine up tp to RM50,000, a maximum two-year jail term, or both if convicted.
State DoE director Rosli Zul said it would take a month for the water sample analysis to be completed.
He also said the DoE, together with the Lands and Mines Office and the Mineral and Geoscience Department, is organising a team to investigate the alleged mining activities in Tersang Forest Reserve.