One of the villagers uses a power drill to dig up the road in order to find the main water pipe. Some of the villagers can be seen carrying plastic containers to collect water.
SRI AMAN: Villagers of Kampung Hilir in Pusa near here have resorted to digging up the road to locate the main pipe after getting fed up with the prolonged water crisis.
Saribas Malay Development Association (Perkemas) Pusa Zone deputy chairman Abdul Ghani Ayup said the villagers were forced to make the desperate move to bring water from the main pipe to their dry taps.
“The villagers have to buy water from their neighbours at RM1 per drum – some RM1.50 per drum – for cooking,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday, adding that they had been facing acute water shortage caused by very low pressure resulting from a mismatched piping system.
Ramlit and Majnum appeal to the relevant authorities to address the matter urgently.
“Look at the size of the distribution pipes to our houses — only about two inches in diameter. So the people have no choice but to dig (up the road) and connect straight from the main pipe,” he said.
Abdul Ghani said the Perkemas chairman had formally written to the relevant authorities regarding the problem, but there had been no response.
“We called the Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) to inform them about the problem many times, but they did not seem to have any solution,” he lamented.
For housewife Majnun Salleh, the water woes had been a nightmare plaguing her and fellow villagers for many months.
“Please help us – tell our leaders in Kuching to help us. It has been like this for months. We have to beg for water from our neighbours. Please solve our water supply problem,” she appealed.
Fellow villager Ramlit Gapor, when met by The Borneo Post, showed the reporter his water container.
“There is no water so we have to source for water. We cannot afford to buy bottled water.
“Please bring up our problem to the state leadership. The last few days there had been no rain. Our store of water has dried up,” he lamented.