Cable theft is hindering Selangor’s flood management, costing millions in repairs and delaying drainage system operations.
KUALA LANGAT: Cable theft has been identified as one of the key factors hampering flood management efforts in Selangor, said state Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim.
He said a site visit to Kampung RTB Bukit Changgang, which was flooded yesterday due to a breached bund, revealed that a screw pump installed five years ago had failed to function because its cables were stolen, preventing effective drainage.
“I have raised this matter during the state executive council meeting and discussed it with the Selangor police chief to ensure attention is given to cable theft cases. I was informed that Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) alone incurred losses of RM37 million last year.
“… and this is not the first incident, as the State Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) has also detected similar activities at a project in Kuala Selangor,” he said when met after visiting the Bukit Changgang bund here today.
Izham added that these criminal activities forced the state government to spend an additional RM200,000 to RM300,000 to repair damage caused by the stolen cables.
He said as an initial step to address the issue, the state government is considering installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and other security measures to curb such crimes.
Commenting further on the breached bund, Izham said repair work is expected to take two days. Assessments showed the damage occurred at a river bend, a vulnerable area.
“The immediate measures we have taken include backfilling the soil, installing rock revetments, and driving sheet piles into the breached section.
“Two portable pumps have been deployed to drain out the floodwaters from the affected areas,” he said.
According to the Social Welfare Department’s (JKM) InfoBencana portal, a temporary relief centre (PPS) has been opened at Sekolah Kebangsaan RTB Bukit Changgang to house 423 victims from 199 families as of this afternoon.
