15 November 2013
WORRYING TREND: MPS team catches operators of 3 premises dumping waste into river
RAWANG: THREE premises that had been polluting Sungai Kundang were ordered to be shut down after a raid by Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) yesterday.
Situated in the same vicinity as two other premises which had dumped toxic waste and oil into the same river recently, MPS special task force chief Paramasivam Chelliah said the trend was worrying as Sungai Kundang was the main water source for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya residents.
"We issued compounds and notices amounting to RM100,000 to the perpetrators."
MPS president Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain had recently pledged to curb river pollution by inspecting premises under MPS's jurisdiction.
A team of journalists, who joined the raiding party, saw how dirty the premises were.
The first raid was carried out at a pork processing shack that also reared fish.
The owner, known only as Goh, said he skinned and cut up pork to be sold, along with the fish.
He said he fed the fish, reared in cages in the river, with internal organs of pigs.
"The water is clean. If the fish do not finish eating the pig intestines, the leftovers will settle at the bottom.
"Therefore, the top part of the water is clean. How can you say I am polluting the river?"
When leaving the premises, the raiding party was tipped off about a nearby fu chok (dried beancurd) producing shack that had also dumped remnants into the river.
The fu chok, which were being dried on sticks at the premises, emitted a terrible stench.
The raiding team discovered that chemicals used to process the fu chok were flowing into a small stream which led to Sungai Kundang.
The third and final raid revealed that a factory set up to recycle waste materials had dug a special drainage system to enable harmful chemicals to flow into Sungai Kundang.
"We checked the drain. The grass on either side of it was dead. They were brown and dried up.
"We suspect the chemicals are poisonous," said Paramasivam.
Read more: Sungai Kundang polluters fined - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/sungai-kundang-polluters-fined-1.401367#ixzz2tZ9ZIOq7
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