MUAR: A 26km embankment stretch from Parit Jawa to Sungai Balang will be strengthened and heightened to prevent seawater from entering coastal villages.Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) would undertake the project to protect some 2,000ha of productive farmland.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the recent weather change and global warming had caused the sea level to rise and the present three meter embankment could not prevent the sea water from entering the villages.
“The DID will increase the height of the embankment from 3m at present to 4.5m and work will start soon.
“Besides flooding the villages, the higher level of the sea water will also cause damage to oil palm, coconut and fruit orchards along the coast,” he said during a visit to the Sungai Balang constituency on Thursday.
Abdul Ghani, who was accompanied by deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Razali Ibrahim, several state executive council members and Muar Umno division chief Datuk Mohd Ismail Mohd Shah, made his first visit to meet the people after the 12th general election.He said he would visit every parliamentary area in Johor on Thursdays to meet the people and find out about their problems firsthand.
He said besides the embankment, he had also directed the Land Office to resolve some long-standing land-related problems in the Muar parliamentary.
He said some nine blocks of land with a total area of 600ha had been illegally cultivated and developed by about 1,800 families for several years.
He said in some cases, the land was encroached into in the 1960s and some in the 1980s and he had directed the relevant authority to approve their applications.
However, he added that those who had opened up several hectares of land and planted them with crop, mostly oil palm, would only receive about 0.2ha.
“There are more than 1,800 people applying for land in this area and we want everyone to receive a plot.
“We also urge all relevant departments to look into failed or stalled projects and engage new contractors to complete them,” he added.
Excerpt from The Star mobile on 13.06.09
(http://thestarmobile.com/jsp/news/viewNews.jsp?newsID=83741)

