Still no clean water – 100 years later

Life for 16 families in an estate is one of misery all because a basic amenity is missing.

LINGGI: Some 16 families at an oil palm estate in Air Kuning near here have been surviving without clean water supply for several years.

In fact, the estate has never enjoyed water supply for the past 100 years.

This shocking state of affair was discovered by Negri Sembilan PKR Youth after a PKR member here informed the party about the plight of these estate workers.

V Mahaletchumy, a committee member of the Estate Workers Union, said the union had submitted numerous letters of complaint to the estate owner but to no avail.

She added that the estate celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.

“There are 15 Indians, one Malay family and 14 Indonesian labourers living in the estate. All of us are drinking water from a well located about 300 metres from our houses.

“You can see for yourself the condition of the well. We have no choice but to use this untreated well water,” Mahaletchumy said, adding that the residents have to carry the pails of water to their houses.

“Imagine for a family of five or six, they have to fetch water many times,” she said.

“They use this water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing dishes and clothes, and cleaning the house,” she added.

Union leader S Murugan said that the estate management provide piped water but it is not clean.

“The piped water is taken from a pond which is a sort of a reservoir. The water comes from a small stream and drains,” he said.

“But we dare not use this water. We have seen snake skins, dead frogs and a dead goat in the pond. How do you expect us to use it?” he asked.

Skin rashes

Murugan also said the management only supplies the piped water from 1pm to 2pm every day.

“But then nobody is at home. The parents are at work while the children are at school. Even if we decide to use this water, the one-hour supply is too short.”

He said that it is quite common for the estate workers to suffer from skin rashes as a result of using untreated water.

Murugan said that in 1999, the Negri Sembilan Water Supply Department had laid the main pipe at the entrance to the estate but the management had failed to lay pipes to supply water to the estate.

Negri Sembilan PKR Youth chief, Mohd Nazree Mohd Yunus, who visited the estate, criticised the state government for failing to protect the health of the workers.

“Even though the plantation is on private land, the role of the state government is to make sure the estate management provide clean and treated water.

“I’m shocked that the state government is not aware of the problem in the estate which has been around for the past 100 years” said Mohd Nazree.

He urged the state government to act immediately so that the workers can get to enjoy clean water supply.

The estate falls under Linggi state seat which is part of the Telok Kemang parliamentary constituency. - FMT