A tidal gate which cost the government RM500,000 to build in Sungai Burong, Tanjong Karang has been rendered useless three months after completion as it is now buried under sand.

Fishermen complain that the tidal gate’s poor design caused a deluge of sand to enter the freshwater Parit Tiga jetty area along with the seawater, burying the tidal gate and rendering the area too shallow for boats.

“The tidal gate had not helped us but made the situation worse. Engine damage (due to getting stuck in the sand) cost us hundreds of ringgit in repairs.

“We also have to push our boats to the jetty as the river is now too shallow,” fisherman Saiful Bahrin Ab Khair told Sinar Harian .

 

Fishermen have also had to start their days two hours earlier than usual to accommodate the tides and avoid being stranded, but this has resulted in their daily catch going down from RM50 to RM20.

Meanwhile, the daily quoted Northwestern Selangor Integrated Agricultural Development Agency (IADA) director Eliyas Saad as saying that the tidal gate was buried as no embankment had been built to accommodate the tidal flows.

He also urged the fishermen to be patient as his agency and the Kuala Selangor Drainage and Irrigation Department are discussing a long-term solution.