‘Every contractor failed to do soil erosion measures in every site’

GEORGE TOWN (Oct 20): The ongoing search and rescue operation for seven buried foreign workers at a construction site in Paya Terubong has led to information surfacing that reveals no construction sites in Penang are adhering to the soil erosion mitigation plan stipulated in their project approvals.

The Star reports that Ops Lumpur was launched by the state government following the general election, which requird enforcement officers from local councils to inspect and report on every construction site in all five districts in the state.

The daily quotes a consultant civil engineer who is  familiar with Ops Lumpur, who says that every single construction project did not observe the soil erosion mitigation plan.

Ops Lumpur had been overseen directly by state exco members and enforcement officers had been required to visit the sites.

“Their reports shocked the state exco members. Every contractor failed to do soil erosion measures in every site.

“Now you know why streams near construction site are always yellow when it rains,” he was quoted as saying.

Developers had claimed they were not aware of the issue and blamed the contractors, according to the consultant.

“Civil engineers are often disgusted when they do site visits because it is common for us to see that the soil erosion mitigation plans are never followed,” he said.

Of the state government agencies duty to regularly conducted scheduled and surprise visits, he said: “How often do they conduct spot checks? How strictly do they conduct enforcement rounds on construction sites? If we keep contractors on their toes all the time, we might not have so many landslides,” he said, in reference to the latest landslide in Bukit Kukus, where a hillside highway from Paya Terubong to Bukit Jambul is undergoing construction.

The daily reports that a muddy, teh tarik-hued stream could be observed flowing between Jalan Paya Terubong and the barred entrance to the highway construction site yesterday.

Rain has fallen almost everyday in Penang over the past week. 

Bernama reports that as of 8.30 am, of the ten victims, the rescue team has found one survivor and two dead bodies. Seven are still missing.

A distress call was received by the Fire and Rescue Department, about the landslide, at 1.56pm.

An Indonesian worker identified as Endo, 36, in speaking to The Star, said that three of his relatives from Sulawesi were trapped in the landslide, and he works in a nearby construction site.

“It rained all night (Thursday). The rain stopped at 9am (yesterday) and resumed at 1pm. At my site, all of us stayed in our quarters and didn’t work because of the rain.

“I got a call from others that my relatives are missing. So, now I’ll just wait,” he was quoted as saying.

In another incident last Thursday, 14 concrete beams that measure 25m long each, crashed down from an elevated section of the highway.

No injuries had been reported, and a stop-work order had been issued, pending investigation into the collapse.