Petrol Station Trials & Tribulations!

Petrol Station manager  Ramli Noordin is tired of putting up with frequent mudslides at his Shell branded service station in Jalan Pengkalan in Central Seberang Prai. He said the drain in front of his petrol kiosk would overflow whenever it rained for a few hours. “In the recent incident, my kiosk was submerged in ankle-deep water and mud and that was bad for my business. My workers had a tough time cleaning up the mess,’’ he said.

In this case the problem arose due a new property development on higher ground where the developer does not appear to be installing appropriate drainage facilities. Council president Farizan Darus, who visited the site twice, said the problem was partly due to a malfunction in the retention pond in the project area. “Since the project is on higher ground, we have insisted that a temporary retention pond be installed to filter the loose soil as the rainwater flows into the drain.

Developer Umi Bina (M) Sdn Bhd site supervisor Hanizam Salleh Mokhtar, had temporarily placed large plastic sheets on the slopes and would soon plant grass to stop the mudslides. “We will see if these measures can effectively contain the problem before considering other options,” he said.

This story and photographs was reported by the Star newspaper of Malaysia.

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