Channel NewsAsia 4 Jun 14;
SINGAPORE: Closure of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in September for six months will not only affect the many recreational users who throng the area.
Shop owners in the vicinity say business, which has already been affected as construction of the Beauty World Downtown Line MRT station has deterred customers from patronising their shops, is likely to be hit by the closure.
Owners of several eating outlets say they might face a further decrease in business due to the closure of the reserve.
"Work on this MRT line has already affected us, as it has blocked our pathways for almost four years," said a shop owner who declined to be named. "Now they say that they are going to close the nature reserve, even on holidays and weekends, our only source of business might disappear.
"I believe the shop houses here will have a hard time surviving."
- CNA/rw
