THE construction of a 26-storey condominium near SJK(T) Bukit Mertajam in Kampung Baru near Bukit Mertajam in Penang has again become an issue.

This time, the parents are complaining about vibrations from digging works which started two weeks ago at the construction site.

Consumers Association of Penang education officer N.V. Subarrow, who joined the parents in staging a demonstration in front of the school on Thursday, said the pupils were unable to concentrate on their studies due to the vibrations.

“Why must the developer do the digging during school hours when they can do so during the school holidays which will start soon?” he asked.

Subbarow also said the condominium’s multi-storey car park was built too close to a block of the school and this could pose a danger if cars were to fall from the building in an accident.

He said the parents were also unhappy that the main access road to the condominium passed in front of the school gates.

A group of parents had, in March, staged a demonstration outside the school to voice concern over the safety of their children due to condominium construction.

The school’s parent-teacher association chairman K. Narayanan had then claimed that the project not only endangered the lives of the 450 pupils but was also causing traffic jams along the narrow road.

He claimed that several pupils almost fell into manholes that were left open when the developer widened the road in front of the school.

When contacted, a spokesman for the developer denied that works from the construction site were causing vibrations at the school.

The spokesman, who declined to be named, said the project was 90% completed and that the company was in the midst of obtaining the certificate of fitness for occupation.

“We are doing our work based on the plans approved by the local authority,” he said.

He added that the company had also removed the tower crane from the site after the first demonstration.