Construction on SK Punan Ba dorms slow but ongoing

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DILAPIDATED: The SK Lepong Gaat staff quarters that collapsed last Saturday.

PRECARIOUS: The wooden bridge leading to SK Lepong Gaat also needs urgent repair and upgrading.

NO ALTERNATIVE: The staff of SK Lepong Gaat still live in this collapsed wooden structure as they have no other place to stay.

KUCHING: Material for the construction of SK Punan Ba’s remaining dormitory is already on site and the project is expected to be completed by October this year.

“As we speak, construction has been ongoing and we are expecting to complete the project in October, or October 24 to be more precise,” said the contractor of Irok Industries Sdn Bhd, Alexander Asing Sadai, to The Borneo Post yesterday.

The verandah of the girls’ dormitory collapsed in Jan 2012 injuring 18 pupils, five of whom were seriously injured. The dorm has since been left vacant.

Meanwhile, the boys’ dorm is also run-down and has been abandoned to avoid any more accidents.

The project of rebuilding the dormitories of SK Punan Ba was approved at the end of last year. Due to the urgency to house the pupils, light-weight prefabricated concrete slabs were used instead of conventional materials to cut down construction time by a third.

More than RM2 million was allocated for the building of the two dormitories and the project was slated for completion by March earlier this year.

Due to the lack of materials, however, the contractor only managed to complete one dormitory, delaying the completion date.

Hulu Rajang MP Ugak Wilson Kumbong lambasted the contractor for the delay, urging the Education Department to take immediate action against him.

“Presently all the boarders of the school are put up in the headmaster’s quarters as well as a teacher’s quarters. Some girls are also put up in a makeshift space at a corner of the school building and packed like sardines. It is such a sad sight.

“As for the completed dormitory, there is no electricity, no water supply. There is just a building structure and the boarders cannot move into it at all,” said Ugak.

Apart from SK Punan Ba, Ugak said many schools in his constituencies needed urgent attention from the Education Department.

“Last Saturday, the staff quarters of SK Lepong Gaat collapsed. The only good thing was that the staff was not around then as it happened during the daytime.

“After the collapse, the staff continued to use the wooden structure as they had nowhere else to go. They just used some wood to try to support the structure.

“However, we all know that it is not going to last. I hope the Education Department will give special funds to build a new structure for the staff here as soon as possible” said Ugak.