By BARTHOLOMEW CHONG
HIGH AND DRY…..The Kinabutan low cost housing estate.
TAWAU: Having to go without clean water for most part of the year would mean terrible hardship for any person. This is exactly the present predicament of the residents of the Kinabutan low cost housing estate located about five miles from the district township.
This situation has persisted for the people who had been staying at the housing estate for over a year and had to rely on the Water Department for twice weekly supplies.
The housing area which comprise 314 units of clustered houses and a greater number of terrace houses especially on the higher grounds, had never seen water coming out of their taps ever since the day they moved into their properties.
Water supplied by the Water Department was insufficient, forcing many residents to buy water from the Department besides being heavily dependent on the rain.
Then there is an element of irregularity, as houses with water meter installed could receive water from the tankers while those without metres would have to find other alternatives.
New Sabah Times made a recent survey of the area found that those in the clustered houses on the low lying areas fared better than their uphill neighbours. They at least occasionally had water coming out of their outdoor taps, but not inside their house and it usually only lasted a few hours.
‘The pressure was so low that it hardly could make it pass the water meter,” Jamilah Dullah, a teacher, said when met.
NO METER, NO WATER….a lady looking at her incompleted pipe connection.
She said at times when the tanker delivering water could not supply sufficient amount until the next delivery she had to call to ask for more.
Jamilah also said the taps were dry for the past five months or so, forcing to buy a water tank to store up water from the Water Department from time to time.
However, her problems are minor when compared to her neighbours at the terrace housing located on higher ground who have no possibility of getting tap water and having to buy it on many occasions.
.Nudia Jaujani,40, a housewife staying in a terrace house was forced to bath in a drain located about 60 metres from her house.
She said there were ten people mostly children staying with her and she is very concerned about using the unclean water at the drain for washing and bathing.
“One of my grandchildren is only a few months old and it is sad for me to see them bathing in such dirty water but we have no other choice”, she said adding that other nearby residences also use the small pond.
TANK IS DRY…empty tank used to collect rain water.
At times Nudia had to use the drain water for cooking and in present dry season had made matters worst for her and her family.
Chong, 40, had stayed in the area with four others for over half a year. When asked he claimed to have bought water and had team up with some other residents to buy the whole amount of the tanker can deliver.
He said he had filed numerous complain to the Water Department was told that no water would be delivered to the housing estate unless all had their water meter installed for fear of water theft.
Datu Abu Bakar Datu Omar, 31, who bought water with Chong, had been in the housing estate for five months. When asked, he could only remembered one occasion in May when they had water from their taps for about three hours.
Twenty-three-year old Alsari Albani said he bought a tank to collect rain water. He also said there were rumours that the developer had failed to settle some payment with the Water Department, which caused the whole problem.
NO CHOICE…Nudia’s children and grandchildren are forced to bathe in the unclean pond in a nearby cocoa plantation.
Another terrace housing resident, Mohd Lukman, a 29-year-old teacher said he had only been in the area for three weeks but had never seen water from the taps as there was no meter installed. However, he had applied for a water meter as waiting for the installation.
Meanwhile, Lukman’s taxi driver neighbour Kassim Hj. Ahmad, 42, said that he had stayed in the area for five months and had never received ferried water because his meter was not installed. His family had to rely on his relatives for all their water needs.
Some other residents rely heavily on rain water especially during the current dry spell.
Liew, 29, said he would only install the water meter if there is water in the pipe. But the residents’ problems did not end there.
BANKING ON THE RAIN…a resident’s house with drums showing the acute water problem.
Loi Ten Heng, 39, who works in a workshop, Munah Bacho, 36, a housewife, Tinah Hassan, 32, also a housewife and Raja Biti Domingo, 39, a businessman complained of the uncollected rubbish in their area.
“The water from the lorry is reddish in colour and I believe it’s because of the rust inside the tank, and I never saw rubbish being collected even after staying for over a year here”, said another male resident.
RUBBISH MENACE… this pile of rubbish located just a few metres from the houses is a sure sign of inviting an epidemic.
New Sabah Times found that Loi and his closest neighbour seems to be most unfortunate as other residents dump their rubbish at a road side which is just opposite their homes.
Loi, Munah, Raja Biti and many others had stayed at the estate for the past one year.
Over half of the houses in the area were not occupied despite having been renovated. The owners refused to move in because of the water problem
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