BY NOEL FOO

THE demolishing of a culvert wall and urgent works to clear the drainage in Bandar Puchong Jaya are just the first steps in resolving the regular flood woes in the area.

The topic was brought up at the Subang Jaya Municipal Council’s full board meeting yesterday, where council president Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan updated all councillors present on the progress of the work.

A culvert wall, that was obstructing water flow from the 1 Puchong Business Park towards the mining pond behind IOI Mall Puchong, has already been demolished by the council.

In addition to that, works to clear debris from culverts near 1 Puchong Business Park and in front of IOI Mall Puchong began as early as two weeks ago.

Nor Hisham said they also wanted to discuss with IOI Properties on plans to add a new culvert beneath the outdoor parking area to channel rainwater to the mining pond behind the mall.

While the mining pond was located on private property, Nor Hisham said there would be no issues in channeling rainwater there because the landowner had yet to acquire any planning permission for potential development.

In addition to that, an existing drain that channels rainwater from IOI Mall Puchong north towards the Sungai Kelang will be upgraded and widened to improve water flow.

Prasarana contractors will also be upgrading the triple-cell box culvert in front of IOI Mall Puchong into a single-cell box culvert sometime in March next year, after the height of the monsoon season.

In the meeting, councillor Mohan Singh also highlighted the ongoing issue of the widespread presence of illegal foreign traders.

Nor Hisham admitted that the council was doing its best to carry out enforcement each time they discovered a new illegal foreign trader, but lacked the power to effectively control the situation because of the limited action it could take through the by-laws.

He said a big part of the problem was the fact that shoplots, owned by Malaysians, were being rented out to these foreign traders.

Nor Hisham said he was meeting the state government, later this month, to urge them to tighten regulations so that the council can take firmer action against violators.

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