Serian villagers cry foul over water woes

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Lianus (right) shows that the tap at the kitchen of Mazlan Puzan’s house is dry. Mazlan (left) is the father of the two young siblings who recently died from rabies infection. His house at Kampung Paon Rimu Bakong, Serian was built by the government.

Sylvester (right) holds the gravity pipe that needs to be joined properly in order to draw water from the nearby mountain. With him is fellow villager Nian Sila.

Herman holds a water hose at his garage in Kampung Paon Rimu, Serian to show that the taps are dry.

SERIAN: Villagers in many parts of Serian Division are either facing shortage of water or having no water supply at all to their homes.

Former councillor Sylvester Belayong of Kampung Antayan Keropok said the government needs do something about the water woes as the villagers are suffering and it is not hygienic to depend on polluted and murky river water for daily needs.

“Now our life is worse than suffering because we have no water for a very long time,” he said when met by The Borneo Post at his village recently.

Sylvester claimed that they had supply of water after their homes were connected to the main pipe by the Rural Water Supply Department two to three years ago but their taps had run dry ever since.

“We are paying for the meter for nothing,” he lamented.

He said they had sought an alternative way to obtain water by using gravity feed system to draw water from a nearby mountain about four km away from their village.

“The pipe was given by Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben but we still cannot get any water from the mountain as yet as the pipe is not joined properly and we need at least RM10,000 to RM15,000 to get the job done,” he remarked.

Sylvester believed that the water woes in his village and nearby villages could be solved if the relevant authorities had a proper plan to address the issue.

“People rely on rain water to drink, cook and wash or use the ponds and streams to clean themselves. But the problem is, if this issue is not tackled properly and urgently, it will cause us more hardship,” he said.

He opined that there might be some problems with the main pipe which probably was why their taps were dry.

Thus, he urged the water authority to do a proper check and address the problem.

Sylvester disclosed that there are more than 100 families in Kampung Antayan Keropok and all are in desperate need of clean water supply.

“And we are living not very far from Serian town and yet this thing still happens to us,” he said.

Meanwhile, a motorcycle mechanic at Kampung Paon Rimu, Herman Lianus, 34, said the water woes in his village was getting worse by the day as their taps were also dry.

“Thus, people in the area start to ease themselves in the streams and rivers, causing pollution. This is not very hygienic but what choice do people have? Very soon people might get infected by diseases and fall sick,” he bemoaned.

“We cannot afford another epidemic after our village and the surrounding areas were hit hard by rabies. And now if the water problem is not addressed properly, we do not know what will happen next,” he emphasised.

Herman said other villages in the area also faced the same problem and hoped the government would fix the problem soonest.

“Everybody is now fuming and worse still, we still need to pay our water bill when it’s due,” he added.

According to Herman, more than 10 villages in the area probably face the same plight and there could be 10,000 villagers affected by the problem.

“Those worst hit are those whose villages are without piped water at all and unless it rains people rely on streams and rivers which are not really clean,” he said.

“The piped water connected to this area is up to Kampung Paon Rimu Bakong but they too are facing the same dilemma,” he said further.

Former Serian MP Lianus Luak called on the government to intervene and help solve the water woes.

“Serian is already a division and we should not see this as our problem. The basic infrastructure for rural people must be there so that they can come out of poverty and help to transform rural areas so that we all contribute to the development of our state and progress together with the nation,” he said.

He said elected representatives must go down to the ground and see for themselves the problems faced by the people.

“Many villagers are suffering for too long for not having basic infrastructure. In this case, they need clean water. Help them soon before it is too late,” he urged.