ELAKA: A community leader is urging the authorities to step in immediately and tackle what he says is worsening pollution along Phase Two of Sungai Melaka.

Pengkalan Batu Community Service Centre director Cassel Krishnan said he was deeply concerned by the deteriorating state of the river, in particular a 3km stretch between Taman Rumpun Bahagia and Rumah Awam Pantai Peringgit.

"There is no sign of a healthy, thriving ecosystem, and the river appears lifeless,” he said in an interview on Tuesday (July 8). 

Krishnan said residents in Pengkalan Batu were alarmed by recent mass fish deaths, which signal a critical breakdown in the river’s ecological health.

"The river is in a dire state. What remedial measures have the authorities taken to revive it?" he asked.

He urged the state government to give the same level of attention to the second phase as it does to the first phase of the river, which is well-maintained for tourism through the Melaka River Cruise service.

"I hope immediate action is taken. We can't wait until the river is dead," he added.

It was reported on June 27 that thousands of freshwater fish had been found dead in Phase Two, apparently because of pollution.

State rural development, agriculture and food security committee deputy chairman Low Chee Leong was quoted as saying that the state government had instructed all relevant agencies to take swift action to contain the situation and safeguard the environment.

He said the Melaka River and Beach Development Corporation (PPSPM) had deployed over 30 personnel to conduct intensive clean-up works in collaboration with the Historical Melaka City Council.

The Melaka Water Regulatory Body has also taken water and fish samples for testing. Initial observations found an oily substance on the surface of the river, indicating possible contamination.

Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, berkata siasatan polis dan dapatan Jabatan Mineral dan Gas (JMG) serta Jabatan Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan (JKKP) mengesahkan kerja di atas tanah tidak menyebabkan isu kepada saluran gas tersebut.

Beliau berkata, ini kerana paip saliran monsun yang terletak di atas paip gas tidak terkesan.

“Mengikut semakan saya dengan pihak berkuasa tempatan taman perumahan dan pembinaan paip monsun yang berukuran 4.2m dari segi diameter dijalankan sekitar 2008 dan 2009, iaitu sebelum penubuhan Pusat Unit Setempat pada 2010,” katanya pada sesi penerangan insiden Putra Heights di Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Selangor.

Amirudin turut menjelaskan dakwaan bahawa syarikat pemaju membina rumah kedai dan membuat kerja tanpa kebenaran di sekitar kawasan seliaan Petronas Gas Berhad (PGB) itu adalah tidak benar, malah syarikat itu telah menerima kebenaran melaksanakan kerja berkenaan, pada 20 Mac 2025.

Beliau turut menafikan dakwaan berhubung pihak Majlis Bandaraya Subang Jaya (MBSJ) tidak menepati kriteria apabila meluluskan Kebenaran Merancang melibatkan kawasan seliaan Petronas dan berkompromi terhadap zon penampan.

Beliau berkata, zon penampan ditetapkan PGB adalah 60 kaki sedangkan di kawasan Putra Heights, zon penampan yang ditetapkan ialah sebanyak 66 kaki, melebihi enam kaki daripada syarat ditetapkan.

Sebelum ini, Pengarah Bahagian Keselamatan Petroleum JKKP Husdin Che Amat dilaporkan, berkata keadaan tanah di bawah paip yang lemah dan tidak menyokong sepenuhnya struktur paip merupakan punca bagi insiden itu.

TEXAS, July 8 — The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas rose to more than 100 yesterday, as rescuers continued their grim search for people swept away by torrents of water.

Among the dead were at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on a river when disaster struck over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Forecasters have warned of more flooding as rain falls on saturated ground, complicating recovery efforts involving helicopters, boats and dogs, as the number of victims is expected to rise still.

President Donald Trump is planning to visit Texas on Friday, the White House said, as it slammed critics claiming his cuts to weather agencies had weakened warning systems.

“Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday.

She said the National Weather Service, which The New York Times reported had several key roles in Texas unfilled before the floods, issued “timely and precise forecasts and warnings.”

Trump has described the floods that struck in the early hours of Friday as a “100-year catastrophe” that “nobody expected.”

The president, who previously said disaster relief should be handled at the state level, has signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources.

Tragedy

Kerr County in central Texas has been hardest hit of the counties devastated by the floods, with 56 adults and 28 children killed, according to the local sheriff’s office.

They include the 27 who had been staying at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp that was housing about 750 people when the floodwaters struck.

Camps are a beloved tradition in the long US summer holidays, with children often staying in woods, parks and other rural areas.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz described them as a chance to make “lifetime friends—and then suddenly it turns to tragedy.”

In a terrifying display of nature’s power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins as girls at the camp slept.

Blankets, teddy bears and other belongings were caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.

Volunteers were helping search through debris from the river, with some motivated by personal connections to the victims.

“We’re helping the parents of two of the missing children,” Louis Deppe, 62, told AFP. “The last message they got was ‘We’re being washed away,’ and the phone went dead.”

Months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours on Thursday night into Friday, and rain has continued in bouts since then.

The Guadalupe surged around 26 feet (eight meters) -- more than a two-story building—in just 45 minutes.

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual in this region of south and central Texas, known colloquially as “Flash Flood Alley.”

Human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense in recent years. — AFP