KUALA LUMPUR – Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has ordered the city’s mayor to work closely with experts to prevent the occurrence of sinkholes.
“I have ordered the KL Mayor to immediately work closely with geologists and infrastructure experts to assess and reduce the risk of sinkhole incidents in the future,” Zaliha said in a statement.
The federal territories department and city hall (DBKL) have also been ordered to improve their standard operating procedures to ensure that geotechnical studies by certified engineers are submitted at the planning approval stage for projects.
Zaliha acknowledged that several incidents in the capital recently have affected people’s concerns about safety, but were also opportunities for improvement.
“It is a chance for all parties, including DBKL, to study and improve their monitoring mechanisms and responses to such incidents,” she said.
Zaliha added she was in regular contact with KL Mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif to identify immediate actions and long-term strategies over urban development and infrastructure issues.
“There is the possibility of revising urban planning policies for Kuala Lumpur so that such risks are reduced,” the minister said.
Zaliha’s remarks come at the end of the fourth day of an ongoing search operation for an Indian tourist who has disappeared after falling into an 8 metre-deep sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India on Friday morning.
The tourist, identified as Vijayaletchumy, 48, from India, had been walking on a pavement when the ground under her gave way suddenly.
The search for the woman has seen personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department and sewerage utility company Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) opened six sewer manholes in the area.
The operation has employed the “flushing” technique to flush sewer lines, as well as a high-pressure sewer drain “jetter” machine to break up rock debris.
Today, Dang Wangi police chief Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman explained the use of the jetter machine, saying debris had to be removed for the search operation to check for foreign objects, “including the possibility of the victim being trapped in the debris”.
“So far, we have performed jetting four times, and we will continue until the debris is completely broken down,” Bernama quoted Sulizmie as saying.
Another measure taken is the placement of 100 sandbags by DBKL around the sinkhole where Vijayaletchumy fell into, to prevent rainwater from entering the digging area. – August 26, 2024