A spokesman for the Selangor Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) told FMT cleaning works had been carried out but added that further action would be taken because investigations had shown that dumping on the site was a recurring problem.

Late last month, DID carried out a site inspection together with the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), the Petaling District Office and Kumpulan Semesta, a company that does maintenance works along rivers.

The inspection was done in response to complaints by TTDI Jaya residents of the dumping of concrete and food wastes on the site.

The spokesman did not give details of the further action to be taken, but said: “The district office and DID will monitor the area from time to time. We have taken note of this issue. Still, the cooperation of all parties, including the general public, is needed to protect our rivers and their surroundings.”

TTDI Jaya resident Zabri Mokthar said the illegal dumping had been going on for more than two years.

He told FMT he first stumbled upon the mess while walking along the riverside in 2018. Subsequently, he took videos of dumping in progress and lodged a report with MBSA.

He recently showed an FMT reporter waste that was recently dumped at the site, which is about 500m from the main road.

”They aren’t just dumping construction waste,” he said. “There are other wastes as well. As you can see, there are flies everywhere.”

Zabri, who has posted videos of the illegal dumping on social media, said residents were complaining of an increase in the population of flies in the area.

He said he was worried that leachate from the waste would flow into the river.

“I am also concerned that the illegal dumping could lead to the river becoming shallower and narrower, contributing to flash floods,” he said.

Zabri said he had seen excavators being used to push waste closer to the river to make room for new waste.

”They don’t think of the long-term effects on the environment and our lives,” he said.

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said the dumping became less frequent after a video Zabri posted on social media started to gain traction.

However, he said, he believed the culprits would return once the heat had abated.

He said he had seen lorries carrying waste entering and leaving the area through a road with no marking.