Sayad pointing at the incomplete structural steel railings for the hydro-dam’s retaining wall.
Only works on the foundation of the powerhouse (pad footings and stump) can be seen.
KUCHING: Villagers of Kampung Assum in Upper Padawan near here are crying out for round-the-clock electricity.
The village of some 30 Bidayuh families is not connected to the electricity grid, forcing it to rely on costly diesel-powered generators for power.
“At night, I rely on candle light if only my wife and I are staying here (his home),” said 61-year-old village head Siang Sayad.
“I don’t even bother to turn on my generator since it is costly.”
Sayad said some 340 villagers from the kampung were looking forward to have access to uninterrupted electricity from a proposed 15KW micro hydro system but it appeared that works on the hydro-dam and powerhouse were excruciatingly slow.
“The work is slow and it seems they do not have enough materials,” explained Sayad.
“Four to five workers would come but most of the time, they would be waiting for materials and if no materials arrive, they would go back without doing anything.”
According to the work schedule given to Sayad, the proposed micro hydro system was supposed to reach near completion by the end of May this year but a quick visit to the dam site, just 15 minutes away from the village by a motorcycle ride, revealed the hydro-dam and powerhouse was nowhere near completion.
As of July 8, only the structural steel railings for half of the retaining wall of the dam had been done, way behind the schedule that the railings for the entire retaining wall should be set up and cemented by mid-May.
For the powerhouse, only the pad footings and stumps had been completed, whereas they should have been long completed by end of April as stated in the schedule.
Meanwhile, the plea for electricity made by the self-sustaining villagers who farm their own food may be answered in the near future as electric posts and power lines had been laid to Kampung Assum and Kampung Parang (which is just a 10-minute motorcycle ride away from Kpg Assum).
“The electric posts were erected just three weeks ago and we were told if everything goes smoothly, there will be electricity to our village soon.” Sayad said.
A spokesperson from Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) revealed the project to connect Kampung Assum to the power grid is scheduled to be completed in 2016 and one of the pressing issues is the wayleave for relocation of the substation.
The villagers are pressing to have their question answered. They are keen to know what would become of the micro-hydro system if their homes are connected to the electricity grid in the near future.
As of press time, the contractor of the proposed micro-hydro system has not commented on the matter.