Last week, two southbound sections of the LDP (Damansara-Puchong Highway) were flooded for about 30 minutes, with water reaching to almost 0.8 metres due to heavy rains and backflow from the Klang River. It caused a massive congestion in the late evening at a time when the traffic was as its heaviest. Some cars even stalled in the middle of the road.
The basement flows of IOI Mall were flooded as well as the interior of the mall. 140 cars parked at the mall’s open carpark space were affected and about 15 cars needed to be towed away. Several businesses at the entrance had to close down remporarily while cleaning operations were affected.
Since then, a lot of blame has been thrown around, including the blaming of the Selangor state government, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) aka people in charge of the Light Rail Transits (LRT) Line Extension Project (LEP, and the highway concessionaire, Lingkaran Trans Kota Holding Berhad (Litrak).
Litrak’s Chief of Operations Richard Lim Kim Ong said only 45m of the two kilometre of the underground channel was managed by Litrak. Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) too said that the flash flood that hit several parts of Puchong should not be attributed solely to the on-going LRT project in the area.
However, immediate action is being taken to unblock and widen the existing drainage along Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP), which are believed to be the major cause of Monday’s flash floods in the area. According to Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) will be engaging Prasarana to clear the debris and blockage as they are responsible for the works because the existing drainage is located at the Prasarana LRT construction site beside IOI Mall.
Litrak, on the other hand, will not be compensating vehicle owners whose machines were damaged in the flood. Vehicle owners are advised to claim from their insurance.
Sources: Selangor Times, The Star, AsiaOne, ABN News.
