Tanjung Bungah sand dredging necessary for smooth river water flow: Chow

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will continue with the sand dredging and mining in Tanjung Bungah despite the call for it to be halted due to the feared environmental threat to the area.
Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow (pix) said the dredging and mining activity in Tanjung Bungah was necessary to clear the river mouths for proper water flow.
He said the dredging work in the rivers in Tanjung Bungah was needed to clear all the three river mouths which were blocked by sand and it would continue for another two weeks.
"We need to clear the river mouths at Sungai Kelian, Sungai Emas and Sungai Kechil from time to time to ensure proper river water flow and also to reduce pollution in the area.
"It so happens that we need sand at the beach nourishment project in Batu Ferringhi, so we transport the sand here," he told reporters after visiting the Batu Ferringhi beach nourishment project site, here, today.
Chow said conservation work at the Tanjung Bungah beach would begin and it was expected to take about a week, once the sand dredging and mining work is completed.
Last week, the Consumers Association Of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) urged the Penang government to immediately halt the sand dredging and mining in Tanjung Bungah which are destroying the beaches and coastline in the areas concerned.
Meanwhile, Penang Drainage and Irrigation Department engineer, Haslinda Mohd Hamran said the RM10.85 million beach preservation and river enhancement project in Batu Ferringhi was expected to be completed by the end of this month.
She said the construction of two outfalls at the river mouths of Sungai Batu Ferringhi and Sungai Satu was to ensure proper river water flow as the river mouths were regularly blocked by sand washed in by the tides.
"Besides beach nourishment to mitigate erosion at the area, the two outfalls would extend 120m to the sea while their top part can be used as a bridge for visitors to cross the river," she said.
She added that the project also encompassed the installation of a pipe to discharge effluent from the Indah Water Konsortium waste water treatment plant nearby. — Bernama