Tardiness saves boy’s life

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KUALA LUMPUR: Undergraduate S. Sathiyasilan was late to milk the cows at the family farm at Sungai Tua Ulu Yam valley late Wednesday evening. His tardiness saved his life.

Otherwise, he could have drowned together with his livestock when garbage from a landfill collapsed into a pond neighbouring two livestock farms last night, causing a freak flood.

Bernama reported that several animals were buried by the rubbish while the deluge of water from the pond drowned several cows and goats.

More than 300 cows and goats from two farms were trapped in the incident.

A huge mess: The pond filled with rubbish after the incident at the cattle farms in Kg Sungai Kertas Ulu Yam Thursday.

Sathiyasilan, 21, said he was late because he had to sit for an examination at a private institution of higher learning.

Only 70 cows and four goats from the farm were saved and taken to higher ground, he said.

Meanwhile, a Selayang Municipal Council employee said the incident may have been caused by loose soil and the weight of water used to put out a fire at the landfill.

The employee, who declined to be identified, said the council was having problems extinguishing a fire which had been burning for the past few months.

“The weakened soil, coupled with the weight of water, might have caused the mountain of garbage to collapse,” he said.

He said the council would cover the landfill with soil as a last resort to overcome the fire.

In Ulu Yam, R.K. SHYAMALA reported that Sathiyasilan’s father V. Subramaniam was upset that his plan to sell the cattle before Hari Raya Aidiladha had been shattered.

He lost about 50 cows and 25 goats in the incident. He has been rearing Australian-breed cows and goats in Kampung Sungai Kertas for the past eight years.

Subramaniam estimated his lost to be around RM300,000.

The 50-year-old claimed the illegal rubbish dump had been active for the past six years.

He said cleaning up the mess would take about a week.

Mohd Sharif Gullam Nasir ,43, lost half of his livestock in the incident.

He has been rearing cows in the area for nearly seven years.

“I lodged a complaint with the Department of Environment about the fire but no action had been taken,” he said, adding he was too sad to count his loss.

About 100 cows belonging to Sharif survived the incident.

Selayang Fire and Rescue Department head Yamin Tekor said 16 firemen, Rela personnel and policemen worked overnight to save the remaining livestock.

“We saved about 150 cows,” he said.