Nenggiri Residents Lament Murky Water At River Catchment Due To Logging

GUA MUSANG, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Most of the villages in the Nenggiri state constituency here, still depend on catchment water from the hill for their daily activities.

However, the only source of basic supply is now cloudy and sometimes murky especially after rain as the river which is their source of catchment water is polluted allegedly due to logging activities.

Kg Jerek Water Catchment chairman Wan Zahari Wan Haron said 10 villages that depend on water catchment supply from Sungai Tasin faced the problem which has been going on for several years.

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"In the Jerek area alone, there are over 2,000 residents and other centres including a primary school, a secondary school, a tahfiz centre and a health clinic.

"When it rains, the water is cloudy and sometimes murky which can go on for three days," he told Bernama.

Water catchment refers to a small dam that is often built by local residents as their mini water reservoir. 

Wan Zahari said previously, villagers managed to stop logging activities for a while following the protest made against the contractors involved who went through Kg Jerek to get to the logging area.

However, he said such activities have started again in the last three months due to a contractor using another road to go up the hill.

"I really hope the logging stops. Pity the villagers whose only source of drinking water is Sungai Tasin," he said.

The same problem was also voiced by Kg Pulau Setelu resident Shahrul Izham Ahmat, 23, who also depend on water catchment for his daily activities.

He said logging and land exploration activities not only caused the water to become cloudy, but also caused the Nenggiri River to change colour like ‘teh tarik’.

"If it rains heavily, pieces of wood will drift down and cause the water piping to be blocked. So the villagers have to work together or hire people to fix it," he said, adding that the problem affects about 300 villagers. 

Bernama's survey of Jambatan Pulau Setelu found that wood and twig debris swept down Sungai Nenggiri were also stuck and piled up on the bridge pillars.

Resident of Kg Bertam Baru, Rohaya Jaafar, 38, said the pollution of Sungai Nenggiri has worsened since the big flood known as the Yellow Flood in 2014 hit Kelantan.

"Before the flood, the water in Sungai Nenggiri was also clear, especially during the dry season, but now, even during the dry season, the river water is dirty," she said.

The mother of four said river pollution due to logging activities also affected the economy of land fishermen and the social life of the local community.

"When I was little, we used to be able to bathe in Sungai Nenggiri, sometimes we fished for fish and prawns by the riverside. But now all those activities are gone," she said.

A stall owner in Kg Jerek, Siti Nor Atikah Kamaruzaman, 29, said the villagers always keep clean water in preparation before the rain because the cloudy water usually lasts up to three days.

"When we see cloudy weather, we store water in barrels or tanks until the water is clear again, because when it rains, the water becomes cloudy like teh tarik," she said.

Polling for the Nenggiri state by-election on this Saturday which will see a one-on-one clash between Barisan Nasional candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani representing the Unity Government and PAS candidate Mohd Rizwadi Ismail representing Perikatan Nasional.

-- BERNAMA