(From left) Taman Murni resident Khoo Teck Choon, Liew, resident Lee Kong Choy, Taman Murni MCA branch chairman Woon Siong Loong and resident Yong Thien Peng standing in front of a hoarded-up hole along Jalan 17 in Taman Murni, Cheras.

DEEP ditches filled with water along Jalan 17 of Taman Murni in Cheras are not only dangerous to passing motorists, they also pose a dengue risk.

The wide holes were dug along the residential road to enable work on the sewerage system.

Taman Murni resident Alexia Sia, 52, said she had been swatting mosquitoes away ever since the road was dug up.

“About five holes were dug along Jalan 17 last November, one of which is right in front of my house.

“Many mosquitoes have been biting us every night with at least two dengue cases reported in the vicinity,” she said, adding that the road was in a mess ever since work began.

“Because the roads have been narrowed due to construction, and the streetlights rarely work, there have been many small and near-miss accidents right in front of my house,” said Sia, who urged the authorities to upgrade the streetlights along the stretch as her tyre was stolen recently too.

Aside from becoming a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes, the partially blocked-off roads prevent MRT feeder buses from using the route, said Serdang MCA vice-chairman Allan Liew during a site visit.

“There have been requests from residents for a feeder bus service from the Sri Raya MRT station in Batu 9.

“The route which originally had 22 stops will now have four additional ones.

“However, because of the road condition, the buses will not be able to come through the area.

“Residents will have to wait until the project is completed before they can enjoy the service.

“We may have to come up with a new solution in the meantime as there are a lot of low-cost flats in Taman Murni and Taman Cheras,” said Liew, adding that the project should have been done in phases or completed sooner.

“Residents do not know when the work will be completed and it has been almost a year,” he said in urging Kajang Municipal Council (MPKJ) to look into the issue.