Alarm bells in Hulu Klang

 05/06/2006 The Sun

THE red flags are all up after last Wednesday's landslide at Kampung Pasir Tambahan in Hulu Klang which killed a family of four.

Suddenly, all eyes are on the hillslope development in and around the scene of tragedy.

At Lorong Timur in Taman Zooview, located directly just metres from the tragic landslide zone, most of the residents of the 15 double-storey houses there have abandoned their homes.

The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) had pasted evacuation notices at the front entrances of the 30-year-old houses, and had agreed to pick up their hotel tabs until Thursday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has ordered Kuala Lumpur Datuk Bandar Datuk Ruslin Hasan to look into the approvals given for development on slopes near Kampung Pasir Tambahan.

He said though the approval was given before the incident, it is only wise to re-examine them. "I will ask the Datuk Bandar to go and see for himself," he said in Kepala Batas yesterday.

He was addressing concerns over City Hall's approval of development projects on the steep slopes in Bukit Mas, 100m from the landslide zone.

It was reported the site approved by DBKL for a seven-storey apartment and a six-storey town villa is only several metres from the Bukit Mas water retention pond.