Lives turned upside down

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Fendi looks at Sungai Kedup, which once contained clear water but is now blackish. (Inset: Edward (right) and a villager show the dead river snails found scattered on the river banks.

Fendi looks at Sungai Kedup, which once contained clear water but is now blackish.

Villagers can’t use river as it is heavily polluted by wastes from oil palm plantation

SERIAN: The lives of more than 150 families in Kampung Mentung Merau, near here, were changed dramatically middle of this month after a heavy downpour caused the wastes from a dumping ground of an oil palm plantation to spill over to Sungai Kedup that runs through the village.

This incident was said to have caused the river to be severely contaminated and no longer fit for bathing and domestic use. Many river fish and river snails were found dead and scattered along the river banks on that day, and only the hardy catfish seemed to be the only fish species to survive the polluted water.

Villager Fendi Bakir, 70, appealed to the relevant authorities to listen to their plight and take some action before the situation gets worse.

“The river fish including ‘ikan baung’ are gone. River snail which is a delicacy for us is also gone. Fresh water prawn which were once found aplenty here are also gone.

“The relevant authorities should act because our lives are now ‘susah jerak bina’ (made very difficult) by this river pollution. We cannot bathe in the river because we get skin irritation, and we cannot pump the water into our houses anymore because it is very polluted,” he said.

Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben, when contacted yesterday, said he was notified of the problem by the villagers on Oct 12 and he immediately brought it to the attention of Salcra (Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority) which runs the oil palm plantation.

He pointed out the source of the problem was the EFB (Empty Fruit Bunch) dumping ground after its bund burst following sporadic heavy rain. He clarified that it was not caused by spillage from the oil palm mill as reported in some online news portal.

“I have communicated with Salcra management, who had sent a team there to investigate. The Department of Environment also went there recently to do some inspection. Salcra already took steps to rectify the problem and improve the bund. Whether they will find another site for the EFB dumping ground or any other steps to be taken by the management, I have not received any report from them.

“But the problem is definitely not from the mill, because the discharge has to go through a few effluent ponds before being released into the waterways,” he said.

However, some villagers are said to be still unhappy with the situation and one of them, Patrick Ahon, lodged a police report on the contaminated river at the Serian police station last Wednesday (Oct 21).

He was assisted by lawyer and DAP lawmaker Wong King Wei and accompanied by some local DAP leaders.

Edward (right) and a villager show the dead river snails found scattered on the river banks.

Edward (right) and a villager show the dead river snails found scattered on the river banks.

DAP Serian branch chairman Edward Luak said he had appealed to the appropriate government agencies to take the problem seriously and to immediately send clean water to the affected villagers.

He feared the situation could lead to yet another concern as the Selabi Water Treatment Plant which supplies treated water in Serian sources its raw water from Batang Sadong, downstream from the mouth of Sungai Kedup.

“Another question arises on whether there is a more serious contamination to the water quality of the Serian water supply. There are thousands of acres of oil palm plantation in the catchment area. There must be insecticide, herbicide and chemical fertilisers dumped for use in the plantation. Do they not contaminate the rivers?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Mentung Merau headman Stephen Juwe said he was confident that the relevant bodies including Salcra would find a solution to the problem.

He revealed that Salcra had been delivering water through tankers to the village since last week, to help the villagers replenish their water tanks.

Pressure from the gravity feed system that supplies water from a dam at a nearby mountain to their tanks is presently low due to the dry spell. He also said water from the dam is shared with other villages.