Pix Wan Nabil Nasir
ALOR STAR: Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi has brushed off claims that the depleting water reserves in Kedah's dams were linked to logging activities.
The Kedah Menteri Besar said the situation was due to a prolonged dry spell, leading to the depleting of water reserves in the dams.
"Some people want to pin the blame on the state government, suggesting that it is due to logging activities.
"There is no logging in the 72,000 hectares (of forest reserves near water catchments).
"Outside the 72,000 hectare area, there are old approvals (logging permits approved by the previous administrations) but they are being carried out based on a 4,200 hectares annual quota set by the Forestry Department.
"However, the logging sites are located all over Kedah, not just outside the (water catchment buffer zone) area," he told reporters after launching the state-level Jalur Gemilang campaign in conjunction with the 67th Merdeka celebration in Wisma Darul Aman here today.
Sanusi stressed that the water reserves were depleting because of lack of rainfall due to the prolonged dry spell.
"Water comes from rainfall. If there's no rain, then there's no water. Pray to Allah for rain. Don't simply point fingers at others. Pray for rain, not just for us (Kedah) but also for our neighbouring states," he said.
Sanusi added although the water inflow from the river streams into Muda Dam, it still required heavy rainfall to improve the water reserve level.
"That's why we need to carry out the cloud seeding operation. That's our effort, the rest we leave it to Allah," he said.
On Monday, the federal government initiated a three-day cloud seeding operation in Muda Dam in Kedah and Bukit Merah Dam in Perak.
The operation was carried out to increase water levels in both catchments which have fallen into critical levels following a prolonged dry spell.
Yesterday, Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) said the cloud seeding operation carried out on Monday and Tuesday has helped to improve water inflow into the Muda Dam, with 2mm of rain recorded at the water catchment site.
The agency, in a statement, said based on an assessment carried out on Tuesday, the water inflow into the Muda Dam has improved by 1,037 acre feet, compared with the average daily water inflow of 416 acre feet this month.