New bridge for Kg Laksmana in six months

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A NEW bridge will be built within six months for residents of Kampung Laksmana in Batu Caves.

The developer, J. A. Manan, has promised the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) that it would submit a proposal to the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) for approval before the bridge is built.

According to MPS assistant public relations officer Helda Syima Abu Talab, the MPS had a meeting with the DID and the developer and it was decided that a new bridge would be built to replace the old one.

“However, we have instructed the developer to close the existing bridge for repairs and place proper signboards to warn motorcyclists and pedestrians to avoid using it.

“The developer will repair it within a month to enable motorists to use it temporarily.

Work in progress: Some of the villagers looking on as repairs are carried out on the bridge in Kampung Laksmana in Batu Caves

“The council will not take responsibility for those who ignore the warnings and use this bridge. The public just has to be patient.

“There is an alternative route to get out of the area through Pinggiran Batu Caves,” said Helda, after StarMetro highlighted the issue in “Bridge now a shortcut to danger” on Nov 11.

A flash flood had hit the area last Saturday, washing away cement and earth near the bridge in Kampung Laksmana and causing a landslip in Taman Jasa Utama, Batu Caves, where a row of houses was flooded.

On the landslip in Taman Jasa Utama, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk T. Murugiah, who visited the site recently, said the developer should be more responsible in enacting safety measures and should also clean up the area.

Helda added that the MPS would do random checks at the site to monitor the situation.