SIMUNJAN: Soil erosion along Batang Sadong is at critical level where between one and two acres of land along the riverbank is being eroded yearly.
Simunjan assemblyman Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, said in Simunjan between one and two acres of land along the riverbank were eroded annually due to the water current and about one acre in Gedong. Naroden said the problem was affecting about 10, 000 people.
He pointed out the problem was severe and have forced one entire village Kampung Lintang in Simunjan to move out to a new resettlement area known as Kampung Hijrah, where about 40 lots were provided.
“The soil erosion in the area (Simunjan and Gedong) is at a very critical level and calls for an urgent attention,” the Assistant Minister of Resource Planning, told reporters yesterday.
Naroden, together with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri, have earlier accompanied Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri G. Palanivel to see the erosion areas.
He thanked Palanivel and Nancy and other senior officers from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Department of Drainage and Irrigation (DID) for the visit to see the seriousness of the problem. Naroden pointed out that Batang Sadong is getting bigger every day due to the serious soil erosion posing a threat to the villages and houses near the riverbank.
He also told reporters that many people have moved to the resettlement areas in Simunjan and Gedong provided by the government, adding that both areas were being developed.