PAPAR: Papar district has been declared a drought disaster area following a critical water supply crisis faced by its residents for the past few weeks.
District officer and chairman of the District Disaster Management Committee, Mohd Fuad Abdullah, in a statement, announced that the declaration was made at 10:30 am this morning.
He said they are now taking follow-up actions to address the situation.
"The scheduled distribution of water supply also received assistance from tankers provided by the Sabah State Water Department (JANS) Ranau, Beaufort District Council, Kota Kinabalu Fire and Rescue Department, and the rest are rented from private entities.
"JANS Papar will prioritise hospitals, places of worship, nursing homes, and schools.
"The Papar District Council will prioritise residential areas, while the Papar Parliamentary Office will focus on village areas.
"However, this does not mean that JANS Papar and the Papar District Council will not supply water to affected residential areas," he said.
In another development, it was previously reported by the media that Deputy Chief Minister III-cum-Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya mentioned that water supply disruptions in several areas around here stemmed from the inability of the Limbahau Water Treatment Plant (LRA) to operate.
He said it was due to excessively high river water salinity levels and the inability to process it, besides the prolonged drought conditions.