Dry taps a damper on Raya celebration

By VEENA BABULAL | streets@nstp.com.my

FUMING: SS14 residents are upset over water disruption which they claim has occurred for the third Hari Raya in a row

SUBANG JAYA: A BURST pipe at the BHP station in SS14 on Sunday put a damper on Hari Raya for Muslims in the neighbourhood.

Families rising to prepare for their Raya prayers at 7am found their kitchen taps dry or trickling to a stop and water in their bathrooms running below normal pressure.

   Open house host Dr Syed Omar Abdullah was enraged as it was the third Hari Raya in a row without water he has had to put up with.

   Dr Omar, who invited 400 guests to his home, said the timing of the burst pipe was unbelievable.

   "After 30 days of fasting, this seems to be the ultimate test. The worst is my family of nine, including my children and grandchildren, could not even bathe."

He said he called Puspel, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) every half hour beginning at 7am.

"They told me water would be restored in the evening so I relented and asked them to send a water truck around but they refused to," he said, adding that he was lucky that his children and in-laws were around to help him buy mineral water and drinks.

Rafiah Mohd Salleh also said this was not the first Raya the family had to put up with dry taps.

Since the LRT expansion project works near SS14 began a few months ago, water disruptions had become common in the neighbourhood, she said.

   "It also seems to happen almost every Hari Raya," said the 59-year-old, adding she intended to bring up the matter with the authorities soon.

   Ahmad Nazli Mohd Hashim, who had to postpone his trip back to Ipoh, agreed that it was happening too often.

"I remember a major disruption in the fasting month that affected a mosque and hospital," he said, adding that the cuts have been frequent over the past three months.

BHP petrol station worker Along Mohd Asheek said he spotted the burst pipe around 7am.

He said there were brisk sales of mineral water at the petrol station's retail store that day.

"The contractors arrived at 9.50am but were stalled for an hour as a school bus was parked at the site of the burst pipe," added Along.

The contractors completed the patch up works at 12.50pm and water supply was restored to homes within minutes.

Many residents, however, complained of low pressure, which rendered washing and cleaning impossible.

   At 2.30pm, about 30 minutes after the contractors covered the dug-up work site, the same pipe burst again resulting in another water disruption.

Contractors having lunch nearby however came to the rescue.

The pipe, which had a hole the size of a lawn ball, was re-patched with a new set clamps and a dislodged connecting pipe was reattached. Water supply was restored in stages between 4pm and 5pm in all affected homes.

When contacted, Syabas corporate affairs department executive director Abdul Halem Mat Som said the burst pipe was an old one and Subang Jaya often faced such problems as it had many old pipes that were yet to be replaced.

A check with Puspel revealed there was also a burst pipe in Jalan 222, here, yesterday that resulted in water disruptions in Jalan 222, Jalan 223, Section 22 near Tasik Aman, Jalan 227 and Section 51 A.

Syed Ahmad Faisal Syed Mohamed helps his nephews to Syed Omayr Syed Haroon (centre) and Syed Ahmad Faisald Syed Mohamed wash their hands using mineral water. Pic by Goh Thean Howe

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Dry taps a damper on Raya celebration

FUMING: SS14 residents are upset over water disruption which they claim has occurred for the third Hari Raya in a row

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