GEORGE TOWN: IT was labelled as "the worst road in Penang" by none other than a state assemblyman during the Penang legislative assembly sitting last year.
However, almost half a year later, the condition of Jalan Low Yat which leads up to Mount Pleasure, where some 2,000 residents call home, has remained the same and motorists who use it daily have been left dumbfounded how nothing is being done to repair the road.
If that itself is not bad enough, residents have been jolted by yet another piece of distressing news -- that more development is in the pipeline on the hill slope there.
Workers of a development company had been seen conducting soil tests at the site recently.
It is learnt that the tests were being done for the construction of two units of show villas for a project involving the building of 21 units of four-storey villas and 80 bungalow units by developer Island Bay Resorts Sdn Bhd.
"This is an outrage. I have been living here for a long time and the state authorities and the developer, which should be responsible for the upkeep of the road leading up to Mount Pleasure, have done nothing to maintain it.
"Residents here have been suffering daily, what with the potholes and utterly deplorable road. Now we hear the same people are trying to get the state government to approve more development on the hill. What is going on here?" demanded resident Dr P. Sundramoorthy.
Sundramoorthy, who is also the country's leading criminologist, related how the state authorities had also granted approval for a development project at a tennis court, meant for communal use at the bottom of the hill last year.
The project involves the construction of three-storey office block (with nine eateries and 18 office units) at the entrance to Jalan Low Yat.
The tennis court was meant for residents of the three blocks of condominiums, namely, Aquarius, Seaview Garden and Sea Range Tower, as well as for residents of the Changkat Ria homes.
Streets has learnt that the issues concerning Mount Pleasure have also come to the attention of Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Chew, who has written to the Penang Island Municipal Council to find out what was going on.
The numerous complaints about the condition of the road, which is filled with cracks and holes all the way up the hill, has since forced Island Bay Resorts to take note.
A spokesman for the company told Streets that tenders had been called for the road to be resurfaced.
He said upgrade of the road was expected to begin soon.
"We hope to get the tender process finalised quickly and if all goes as planned, work can begin within the next two weeks," he said.
- Harian Metro
- Berita Harian
- Business Times
- My Gadget Planet
- Travelific
- Harum
- Eats
- Properties
- News Image Bank (NIB)
- New Economic Model
- NST Reviews
- NiEXUS
- Friends of Travel Times
- Property News
- NSTLIVE Archive
- Spell-It-Right
