RESIDENTS living along the banks of the Brunei River are calling for an increase in conservation and clean-up efforts for the river, which is rapidly deteriorating due to the recent spate of landslides, years of neglect, modernisation and unheeded calls for conservation.
Evidence of the river's derelict state and deterioration can clearly be seen should one take a drive along the winding roads of Kota Batu, said Hj Asbulla Hj Ahmad, a resident of the area.
"The river used to be green but now it's murky brown. The river has also turned turbid as it is now much shallow compared to before. The landslides and the dumping of soil from land levelings are the cause. How can you level a hill and dump the contents into the river?" he said.
Land levelings to prevent landslides could be seen in many spots along the road where hills are being dug up and vegetation cleared to ensure the safety of houses which are built on the hillside. Sadly, most of the dug-up earth are used to reclaim part of the river banks.
Several workers from the Public Works Department who were working at the site told The Brunei Times that they were ordered by their superiors to dump the dirt by the river banks.
However, the dirt which was dumped alongside the banks are clay and is deemed unsuitable for reclamation as it will erode into the river.
A resident who wished to be known only as Ali said that the land dumpings were a nuisance as the authorities literally dump it at his front door. His house, built on stilts directly on the river, is now partially land filled due to the land dumping and since the composition of the land is mostly clay, Ali said that he now has to take an alternative route to his house whenever it rains.
"I can't park my car at the front of the walkway of my house anymore whenever it rains. The rain makes the clay slippery and muddy and since it's not piled with any reinforcements, it is too dangerous to walk through. Why dump the erosion problem on us? We do not even live on the land," he said.
Hj Said, a fish cultivator, blames the erosion for the death of several of his livestocks. "I cultivate fish for my livelihood but now most of my fishes die before reaching maturity. The water is murkier than ever and oxygen level in the water is definitely eroding."
"According to some of my business associates from Malaysia, the same scenario has happened before in their country. The drop in pH and oxygen level due to high content of alluvium or dirt in the water due to landslides and stripping of vegetation contributed to deaths of their livestocks. Someone needs to look into this urgently," he said.
Hjh Rosnah Bujang, a mother of four, indicated that the residents were not the sole cause for the degradation of the river.
"We have always been blamed for its current state. The actions of a few have given us all bad names, but not all (of us) dump rubbish into the river," she said.
"Once the tide turns, a torrent of rubbish could be seen floating from the interior of the river which flows to places like Sengkurong and Kilanas. There used to be a rubbish catchment project near the courthouse in the capital before but I do not know what happened to it," she added.
These residents are singing the same note, that the Brunei River, a cultural heritage and the birthplace of civilisation in Brunei, is in need of help and urgent attention.
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