GEORGE TOWN: A massive traffic congestion hit the island this morning due to a road widening project.
Many road users were caught in the traffic snarl along a stretch of Jalan Masjid Negeri for at least an hour.
Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) president S. M. Mohamed Idris said the tree transplanting process had disrupted the traffic flow. The CAP office is located next to the busy road.
Idris said some 16 trees were slated to be moved for the road-widening project.
"The uprooting of the trees was done at night, beginning last week.
"When it came to the twelfth tree, the operation hit a snag because workers alarmingly discovered live electricity cable at the roots," he said in a statement today.
Idris said the workers stopped in time before any untoward accident happened.
"Accurate information about the location of utilities is necessary especially when excavation work is under way," he said.
CAP had objected to the tree transplant project undertaken by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) claiming that the tree relocation would undermine the trees' survival.
Early this year, the civil society group had staged a protest against the road widening project by the Penang government as well as MBPP.
Dozens of SAM members held placards in four languages next to one of busiest roads here to ask the authorities to stop the 1.8 kilometre project along Jalan Masjid Negeri.
Idris had called for the state government and the Penang Island City Council to scrap the project to prevent environmental degradation.
He lamented that the rapid pace of development and priority given to motor vehicles have destroyed Penang's natural charm.