SMC plans massive anti-littering campaign in 2017

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SIBU: A massive anti-littering campaign has been planned for 2017 to curtail indiscriminate throwing of rubbish and illegal dumping here.

According to Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) public health, environment and municipal services standing committee chairperson councillor Rhoda Ting, the campaign will cover the whole of Sibu.

“But this is still in the planning process and will involve schools to get them to come up with the slogan. It is important to start inculcating such values from young.

“We know about the littering and illegal dumping problem,” she said in replying to a question by a teacher on the indiscriminate throwing of rubbish at Lake Garden in Permai during a meet-the-people-session at SMK Deshon here organised by SMC yesterday.

Meanwhile, pertaining to the concern from a member of the public that lorries carrying earth in the new housing development areas in Permai could damage or dirty the road,  SMC engineer Jong Thian Puk said developers needed to apply for permit from the council beforehand.

From there, the council would get the developers to deposit a certain amount usually not less than RM20,000 (depending on the length of the road used) in case there was any damage to or dirtying of the road.

Jong noted that in transporting of earth, there would be some spillage of earth, where developers were required to clean up the road.

“If they fail to do so, the council will use their deposit to repair and clean the road.”  He added if no permit was applied then, it was deemed as illegal, where the council’s enforcement unit or even Land and Survey Department would take action.

He also mentioned that contractors from telecommunication or utilities companies needed to apply for permit before doing any digging works.

Meanwhile, a teacher had requested the portion along Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce Road still without street lighing to be lit up, calling it a potential ‘death trap’.

Touching on a request by a school for the water-logged area outside the school fence to be turned into parking bays, he said they had applied to Land and Survey Department.

“The council has applied to Land and Survey (Department) to give the two lots of state land to the council to be converted into public parking bays,” he said.