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KUALA LUMPUR – The Batang Kali-Genting road in Hulu Selangor will be closed to the public for a year to facilitate hillslope repairs and roadworks following the deadly landslide last Friday.
Works secretary-general Datuk Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman said the Public Works Department will release a notice on an alternative route.
He added that his officers will carry out a detailed study of the incident once the search-and-rescue operation is completed.
“Although the road is okay, we will not allow it for public use until a new slope is made, which will take about a year,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.
He added that the landslide is not caused by road development in the area but it was a natural disaster due to underground water.
“It is not due to illegal irrigation at the campsite, but the flow of underground water that we cannot see on the surface.”
He said a total of 1,045 slopes along federal roads in the peninsula are at high risk of collapsing.
“No development is allowed to take place in high-risk areas. According to guidelines, development is not allowed in red zones.”
In the 2.42am incident last Friday, the landslide measuring almost 300m long and 70m high came crashing onto the Father’s Organic Farm campsite located below the mountainous road linking the twins of Batang Kali and Gohtong Jaya.
A total of 24 victims have been confirmed dead so far while 61 are known to have survived.
Search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing to locate nine missing people. – The Vibes, December 20, 2022