Sia Kie Kung, 67, said he has been staying there since he was eight years old.
“Every two days, I take 10 minutes to ride to a relative’s house in Salim Road to get water. I have to take four rides just to get enough water for two days,” he said when met yesterday.
He must always be prudent with water to ensure it lasts him over two days.
He has also turned to using rain water, but said it was not fit for consumption lately due to the haze.
“I’ve dug a hole near my house with a pump installed to get underground water for bathing,” he added.
He has two big tanks behind his house – one to store rain water and the other to keep the underground water.
Another resident, 47-year-old Choong Jin Fah, said he had brought up the water plight with the authorities many times, but no action was forthcoming.
“I looked up for the elected people’s representatives, a few of them checked it out but nothing seems to have been done,” he lamented.
Choong, who has been staying there for 32 years, said he had been advised many times over to wait for the budget for a water supply project.
“Just last month, I went to Sibu Water Board, an officer there told me that there is a water supply project next month, I do not know how true, but I’m hoping it will materialise,” he said.
Choong said he and his family currently received water supply by connecting a water pipe from a friend’s house in front of SJK(C) Sung Sang.
Previously, he and his family used to bathe in a nearby river.
Ling Yik King, 69, said when he told friends that there was still no water supply to his house despite staying in the proximity of the Sibu Water Board, his friends did not believe him.
“They thought I was lying,” he said.
Besides water, households there are also hoping the access road to their area can be upgraded.
Meanwhile, when contacted yesterday, Sibu Water Board general manager Dato Alice Jawan Empaling said a proposal for water supply extension to the area concerned had been approved in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development.
“The Sarawak Rural Water Supply Project (reticulation system) Zone 3, Package B (water main extension to Bukit Penyau Road) has been awarded and the contract commenced in September 2015 and is expected to be completed by April 2016 (eight months contract) under supervision of Public Works Department (Sibu regional),” she said.
She said the project estimated at RM1.4 million was divided into three routes – Route A, Route B and Route C.
Route A will benefit seven houses, Route B nine, and Route C eight.
She said as part of government’s efforts to reduce the people’s burden, the cost of communication pipe installation was included in the contract except for capital contribution, deposit and inspection fee.
“The board would like to take this opportunity to thank the residents affected for their patience, and apologise for the inconvenience caused them,” she said.-Borneo Post
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