Garbage, waste pollute river
Sharifah Masrinah Abdullah New Straits Times 17 May 12;
NEW PROBLEM: Villagers highlight adverse effects of logging activities
KOTA BARU: LESS than 24 hours after the elephant rampage problem was reported in the New Straits Times, villagers living near Bukit Bakau forest reserve yesterday highlighted another adverse effect from logging activities.
They claimed that garbage and other waste from the logging projects had polluted a river near their villages in Machang.
A resident, who only wanted to be known as Ismail, said villagers discovered the pollution last year before raising the issue with the village's security and development committee.
Following this, Ismail said the committee members inspected the area and found rubbish and other items which they suspected had been dumped by loggers.
"We were told that several companies hold licences to log near the forest reserve over the past few years and we believe their workers have thrown the rubbish into the river," said Ismail, a 43-year-old rubber tapper from Kampung Cherang Hangus in Machang.
Kampung Cherang Hangus is among 10 affected villages near the forest reserve.
Other villages include Kampung Pek, Kampung Pangkal Petai and Kampung Lepan Rambai.
NST reported yesterday that the state Wildlife and National Parks Department had said rampant logging at the forest reserve had driven elephants into the villages.
Department director Rahmat Topani had said they received about 80 reports from villagers whose rubber smallholdings and fruit orchards were damaged by elephants this year.
Kampung Cherang Hangus village security and development committee head Zulkifli Mat Nor said the villagers also suspected that widespread logging had caused soil erosions in certain areas of the jungle.
"Apart from forcing elephants to flee their habitat, we also suspect that the erosion is brought about by the logging activities.
"The river has become so shallow that four-wheel-drive vehicles can easily pass across it," said Zulkifli.
Meanwhile, state Department of Environment director Ruslan Mohamad said the department had yet to receive any report from the villagers on the matter.
"The villagers can lodge a report with us but they must support it with evidence for us to carry out our investigation properly," he said.
