Perak DID director Abdul Razak Dahlan said the department was constantly monitoring the length of the banks of Sungai Perak especially the high risk stretches as a contingency measure.

“Residents in Teluk Intan need not worry because we are doing all we can to overcome the erosion problem.

“We are also upgrading drainage infrastructure in the constituency with the construction of a new drainage system with water gates to reduce the impact of the erosion,” he told Bernama here today.

On Friday, the MP for Teluk Intan, Mah Siew Keong, had said that the town could end up becoming an island in 50 years if the problem was not mitigated.

Abdul Razak said that RM50 million had been spent for a flood mitigation project for the constituency that started in 1997 and that a RM50-million project to build bunds and retaining walls to contain the erosion started last year and was due for completion towards the end of next year.

Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir also spoke on the issue in Pangkor yesterday, saying the state and federal governments would do all that was necessary to address the problem.

-BERNAMA