BY WONG PEK MEI

Stop work: Residents protesting against the construction of power transmission pylons at the background and the deforestation.

RESIDENTS at Bukit Hatamas Apartment in Cheras are urging the Selangor state government to halt a project to build power transmission pylons about 20m to 30m from their apartment blocks.

Rosli Majid, the spokesman representing the residents, said the state government should stop work until a briefing is held between the residents and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) on Sept 19.

“There was no notice or any briefing before they started clearing the land for the project. TNB should have held a briefing with us first to tell us about the project.

“What is worse is that the deforestation and the pylons are so near our apartments,” he said when met at the apartments.

He said there is a notice board about the project but it is in an obscure place and is not facing any residential homes.

The notice board states that the project covers 45ha and the licence of the project is for the south and north of Bukit Sungai Puteh as well as Hulu Langat forest reserves.

The licence is valid from June 23 to Dec 22.

“This is dangerous especially for children. The children here go to a nearby waterfall which is also affected by the project. The water is not clear anymore,” he said.

Rosli said the residents are also concerned about the land clearing on the hill facing their apartments as there had already been two landslides in the past, with the second one occurring five years ago.

“We do not want a third occurrence and we don’t want the pylons to give way in the process too,” he said, pointing to an exposed slope and adding that it had been a green area before the land clearing.

“It was beautiful but now it’s all gone,” he said.

He urged Mentri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali to come to the site to see the clearing.

Area residents, Shaker Kutty and S. Poobalan, who claim they care for the nearby waterfall, said the water at the waterfall is dirty now.

“The children do not go there anymore,” Shaker said.

Datuk Dr Eadon Ching Ten Song, who lives in Taman Bukit Segar Jaya 2 which is also nearby, said the issue of the pylons started in 2009, when TNB started to apply for transmission lines from Taman Connought through Taman Cheras Hartamas.

Ching, who is also chairman of the joint action committee against the high voltage transmission line project in Cheras, said they were told that the transmission lines were to power the Langat 2 water treatment plant,” he said.

Ching said they were told at a briefing held between residents and TNB last year, that the project was approved but it was a day before then MB Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim stepped down.

“Until today, we have not seen the final plans for the transmission lines.

“If the state government does not us to see the plans, we will stage a protest at Selangor state secretary’s office in Shah Alam,” he said.