Residents fed up of living amid 'dumpsite'

12/02/2004 The Star By BEN TAN

RESIDENTS of Taman Bukit Angkasa in Pantai Dalam claim that their living condition has been like a garbage dumpsite the past 10 years. 

They have been putting up with blocked drains, indiscriminate rubbish dumping, and illegal hawkers which have exacerbated the shortage of parking space. 

The area, although a residential one, is infamously known as a food square at night and wee hours of the morning.  

Most of the five-foot ways along the shops in Taman Bukit Angkasa are also stewn with rubbish.

Taman Bukit Angkasa consists of about 10 blocks of more than 100 flats that were completed in 1994 by developer Nakkon Sdn Bhd. 

It is a low to medium-cost residential area. Many of the residents were squatters who had bought or rented the flats from City Hall. 

Among the worst affected blocks are Blocks 13 and 14. A playground in Block 13 has been unused and partly turned into a dumpsite. 

”We were promised amenities for children. At present there is no suitable playground for the children of Blocks 13 and 14,” resident Prem Anand complained. 

The 32-year-old, who has been living in Taman Bukit Angkasa for a decade, said the existing playground could not be used as it was a health hazard.  

“The ground has been dug up while there is a small mountain of refuse at the playground,” said Prem, adding that the the risk of dengue was high. 

Prem and several other residents of Block 13 have been doing their bit to maintain their block through gotong-royong that included repainting the building. 

Resident A. Ganasan, 30, said the voluntary maintenance by his friends was no easy task as the situation had gone from bad to worse. 

“Most of the shops and restaurants are not helping as they indiscriminately throw rubbish while the drains are constantly blocked as many have individual water pipes inside the drains,” he said. 

One example he cited was the back alley near a restaurant at the end of Block 14, which had drains clogged with rotting waste. 

He added that illegal stalls in the area left their rubbish strewn everywhere aside from occupying the parking bays of residents. 

A check by the Star Metro found the place indeed in a squalid state with rubbish piled in many corners and clogging drains, and stalls set up in the parking area. 

On a normal day in Taman Bukit Angkasa, there are about 30 stalls and by evening more will open up to cater to the dinner crowd. 

Most of the stalls, located on the five-foot ways and parking lots, are run by foreigners. A check showed that the stalls were owned by locals who rented them to the foreigners. 

As a result, parking space is limited and many motorists double-park. In several instances, residents were seen pushing away the cars that were preventing them from getting out of their parking spots. 

Some owners have taken to leaving the car handbrakes down so that their vehicles could be moved if the need arose. 

Double-parking inconvenienced other residents and leaving the handbrake down would be dangerous as the vehicle could roll down the road and cause an accident, Ganasan pointed out. 

He said he had written letters to Lembah Pantai MP Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and the Housing and Local Government Ministry on Dec 28 regarding the state of affairs in Taman Bukit Angkasa. He had also sent copies to Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Mohmad Shaid Mohd Taufek and the developer Nakkon Sdn Bhd. 

Rubbish clog the drains, and the water pipes add to the problem.

“Until now, there has been no action except for a visit by Shahrizat and the mayor recently. If all else fails, I will try to contact the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself,” he said. 

Ganasan said he could no longer stand the situation in Taman Bukit Angkasa as it had deteriorated badly over the years. 

“We have first class infrastructure but third class mentality,” he said, adding that Shahrizat as MP for the area should do a better job. 

The mayor and City Hall could not be reached for immediate comment. 

During his visit late last month, the mayor had assured residents that their problems would be looked into and, where possible, resolved. 

He had said City Hall would try to relocate the food hawkers and urged them to be considerate towards residents' concerns, especially regarding rubbish disposal and illegal structures.