Cable theft a key obstacle to flood management in Selangor, says exco

PETALING JAYA: Cable theft is one of the key factors hampering flood management efforts in Selangor, says state infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim.

He said a site visit to Kampung RTB Bukit Changgang, Banting, which was flooded yesterday due to a breached bund, found that a screw pump installed five years ago had failed to function as its cables had been stolen, preventing effective drainage.

“I raised this matter at a state executive council meeting and discussed it with the Selangor police chief. I was informed that Tenaga Nasional Berhad alone incurred losses of RM37 million last year.

“This is not the first incident. The state irrigation and drainage department also detected similar activities at a project in Kuala Selangor,” Bernama reported him as saying after visiting the Bukit Changgang bund today.

Izham said these criminal activities forced the state government to spend between RM200,000 and RM300,000 to repair damage caused by the stolen cables.

He said the state government is considering installing CCTV cameras and other security measures to curb such crimes.

Izham said repairs to the breached Bukit Changgang bund were expected to take two days, adding that assessments showed the damage occurred at a river bend, a vulnerable area.

“The immediate measures we have taken include backfilling the soil, installing rock revetments and driving sheet piles into the breached section.

“Two portable pumps have been deployed to drain out the floodwaters from the affected areas,” he said.

According to the social welfare department’s InfoBencana portal, a temporary relief centre was opened at SK RTB Bukit Changgang this afternoon to house 423 victims from 199 families.