FLOOD AFTERMATH: TUMPAT VILLAGERS BEAMING WITH FREE TOWING SERVICE

TUMPAT, Dec 14 (Bernama) -- Distraught villagers in Tumpat, whose vehicles were submerged in what was the first monsoonal wave, were sighing with relief in the aftermath as free vehicle towing services started rolling out today.

The towing service was initiated by the Tumpat Police Community together with NGOs like Group Towing, Carrier and 4x4 Kelantan with the service launched at Pantai Sri Tujuh here today.

Mazni Yahya, a 50-year-old civil servant, said the recent flood episode submerged five of her family's cars in Kampung Neting due to unexpectedly high water levels.

She expressed relief as this programme alleviated the financial burden of having her cars towed one by one to the workshop at a cost of RM900 per trip.

Another flood victim, Ismail Abdul Rahman, 44, said his four cars, which could not be moved in time and went underwater, couldn't be started and were caked with mud.

He jumped at the free towing service which significantly reduced his expenses, as the flood waters also damaged many of his electrical appliances. The rapid rise of water going chest-high caught him by surprise too.

Wan Mohd Izani Wan Hassan, advisor for the Towing Association of Kelantan/Terengganu, noted that around 70 tow trucks from Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Kuala Lumpur have banded together and expect to tow over 200 vehicles in a day.

"All tow truck drivers actually work in unison even though they are from different states. Besides helping the general public, we carry out other charitable work like cleaning up mosques and tahfiz schools affected," he said.

He explained that although there are risks in doing charitable work, these can be managed because all the tow truck drivers are united in a community mission.

Meanwhile, Tumpat deputy police chief Supt Ibrahim Hussin called this a welcome collaboration between the Tumpat district police and NGOs to ease the burden of the community severely hit by the floods.

He said the rapidly-rising flood waters this year was unexpected and submerged many houses and vehicles as many villagers were caught unaware.

-- BERNAMA