PUTRA HEIGHTS BLAZE: NEARLY 500 TONNES OF WASTE CLEARED UP IN OPS MEGA

KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Bernama) -- Close to 500 tonnes of waste have been cleared as of 2 pm today under a mega clean-up operation in Taman Putra Harmoni and Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru, following the gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights on April 1.

KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) managing director Datuk Ramli Mohd Tahir said the amount is expected to rise when the clean-up operation ends this evening.

“Yesterday alone, 120 tonnes of waste were cleared, and we expect the figure to increase. We have been conducting clean-up work since the third day of the incident (April 3) and estimate the total waste collected to reach 500 tonnes.

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“However, this figure does not include soil and sand that were also removed,” he told Bernama at the site today.

He said apart from wastes and dried leaves, the operation also involved cutting down burnt and dead trees, which were then ground using specialised machinery and sent to disposal sites.

Ramli added that KDEBWM had previously done sand removal work on the affected roads and medians.

Roll-on-roll-off (RORO) bins were also placed at the end of every residential lane to facilitate the disposal of damaged household items, he said.

According to him, if the clean-up cannot be completed today, KDEBWM will discuss with the relevant authorities the possibility of extending the operation.

Meanwhile, Taman Putra Harmoni resident Nor Azlina Arifin, 52, expressed her gratitude to all agencies and volunteers involved in the mega operation, describing the effort as a huge relief for residents.

“The clean-up, especially the removal of dead trees that posed a risk to homes, has been a great help. My house roof was damaged by flying debris during the incident,” said Nor Azlina, who is currently staying with her family at a nearby boutique hotel.

The two-day operation involved more than 4,000 volunteers from over 20 government agencies, private entities and non-governmental organisations deployed across 12 zones in Taman Putra Harmoni and Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru.

The fire, which broke out on April 1 at about 8.10 am, saw flames soaring over 30 metres high, with temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius. It took nearly eight hours to fully extinguish the blaze.

-- BERNAMA