| By Azaraimy Hj Hasib
& Lyna Mohammad
The deep crack at Jalan Kebangsan.
The hazardous hole is partly blocking the road entrance to the
neighbourhood.
A section of Jalan Kebangsaan
has collapsed, leaving a large and deep hole that poses danger
to unsuspecting road users.
Residents have already lodged a
complaint with the Public Works Department regarding the crack
which has appeared at the main entrance to a residential zone.
Some suspect that the large
hole was caused by erosion due to poor drainage. The crack looks
poised to get bigger if the road section gives way again.
As the hazardous hole is partly
blocking the entrance to the neighbourhood, many motorists have
to go through an area covered with tall, thick grass which some
said resembles a jungle just to get to the homes in the area.
A check with a weatherman
indicated that the heavy ranfalls were not to blame for the road
crack.
Instead, the weatherman
suggested that the damage on the road could be due to poor
maintenance of drains.
Some people are also
questioning the quality of the road itself.
Official statistics made
available to the public show there are a total of 2153 roads in
the country, of which around 109 are still made of earth and 189
gravel.
The country, however, saw a
dramatic improvement in the roads, especially highways as
billions of dollars were poured into road development.
Some villages such as Kampong
Burung Pinggai Berakas and other parts are having a major
overhaul of their roads as well as improvement of drainage and
other public infrastructure.
The authorities are always
ready to rectify problems affecting roads.
Since 1994, the Action Control
Centre (ACC) has received many complaints and solved problems
following calls made by the public. The ACC is the
communication, coordination and monitoring body for all
emergency and maintenance works of the Routine Maintenance Unit,
Road Maintenance Section of the Public Works Department.
According to the department,
complaints and requests reported to ACC are immediately relayed
to the ACC, which responds and acts accordingly.
Among the complaints that are
given priority are repair of potholes, levelling of road
shoulders, removal of stagnant water, "desilting" of
drains and removal of dead animals and fallen trees.
Some complaints such as repair
of footpath cracks and signboards, levelling of earth and
private access stoning need further investigation but are acted
upon as soon as possible.
Complaints can be made via the
ACC main line at 02-382385.
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