KUANTAN: The delay in the completion of the Sungai Belat Flood Mitigation Plan (RTB) here is giving residents in low-lying areas nearby sleepless nights over worsening floods during the year-end monsoon season.
The RM118 million project, which started in January 2018, was supposed to have been completed last year.
After several setbacks, the project is now scheduled to be completed this November.
Residents, however, remain unconvinced by the timeline.
The villagers are urging the federal and Pahang governments to step in to help expedite construction works including the flood protection wall and pump house with a water control gate at Kampung Bunut Rendang, Taman Guru and Kampung Kurnia.
Retiree Suriyadi Abdul Jalal said with less than two months to go before the monsoon season, he was concerned that his house in Taman Guru will be hit by floods similar to the incident which damaged his premises last December and early this year.
"The water control gate at Taman Guru is scheduled to be completed in early November this year but only a few workers are at the site. Can the work be completed in time or before the rainy season?
"Last year, the floodwaters rose quickly and in less than three hours, the water was more than a metre deep and most of my belongings were ruined. I am not prepared to endure another round of floods this year and suffer more losses," he said when met at the Taman Guru pump house.
The 60-year-old said the villagers were previously assured that once the RTB was completed, they would no longer face flood issues as the water control gate would be able channel the excess water (from housing settlements) towards Sungai Kuantan.
Meanwhile, villager Abdul Ghani Abdul Rashid, 57, said since the RTB project began in 2018, there have been several delays and works were moving at a snail's pace.
"Floods occurred late last year and some of the residents nearby were forced to relocate to temporary evacuation centres. I hope the authorities will urgently look into the matter and find a solution for construction to be completed as soon as possible," he said, adding that floods have often left hundreds of thousands of residents in the vicinity with traumatic experiences.
Meanwhile, Noor Jehan Abu Bakar, whose house in Taman Guru was hit by the floods last year, expressed her disappointment with the delay in completing the RTB saying the residents were not prepared to become flood victims every year.
"The contractor does not seem to display any eagerness to complete the project within the given time. There are only three workers today when at this stage there should be some 30 workers to ensure works are completed by November," she said.
Meanwhile, Kuantan member of parliament Fuziah Salleh said judging by the work progress, it appears certain that construction cannot be completed by November.
"Some villagers are already making plans to move and rent elsewhere for three months (November till January) fearing major floods will hit the area again. That is for those who can afford (to move elsewhere)… what about others who might be forced to remain and face the floods?
"The Meteorological Department expects that an average rainfall of up to 23mm is likely due to the La Nina phenomenon and Northeast monsoon in November. Even during the floods last year, the average rainfall was about 17mm so there is a huge risk of floods occurring this year and this had kept the residents worried," she said.
Fuziah, who inspected the Kampung Bunut Rendang and Taman Guru pump houses to check on the RTB progress, urged the Drainage and Irrigation Department to hold a dialogue with the residents near Sungai Belat to provide them the latest updates and allow them to raise questions on the matter.