Taskforce: Pig farmer polluting mangrove swamp

CHECKS by relevant agencies found that a pig farm owner who failed to treat sludge in the sewage pond in Kampung Pantai Acheh in Balik Pulau, Penang, for the past 10 years has been causing the muck to ‘overflow’ into a nearby mangrove swamp.

Taman Negara Penang Monitoring Taskforce committee member Teh Yee Cheu said the improper management of the pond in accordance with the set environmental guidelines had resulted in the mangrove swamp, which is part of the Taman Negara in Teluk Bahang, to be polluted.

He said the farm owner was already committing an offence by running the farm which encroached on a piece of state government land.

“He then went a step further by not treating the sludge in the sewage pond causing the pond to be filled with murky water which is emitting a foul stench,” he said.

Teh, who visited the site recently, said the contaminated water also flowed out to the sea which made matters worse.

He said the checks were carried out by the Environmental Depart-ment and the southwest district Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID).

Teh also said he was shocked to find out through an emailed reply from the DID that the part of the sewage pond, which was on state land, was given a temporary occupational licence last October.

“This means that all this time, the pond was actually illegal.

“Action should be taken against the farm owner for jeopar- dising public health as well as polluting the environment,” he added.

Teh, who is also Tanjung Bungah assemblyman, suggested that the farm could be relocated to a more suitable location like Kampung Selamat in the southern part of Seberang Prai. - The Star