THE section of Sungai Penchala flowing through Section 19, Petaling Jaya, will be upgraded by the end of the month as part of a redemptive measure under the government's river adoption policy.

According to Damansara Utama assemblyman Datuk Lim Choon Kin, Sungai Penchala, which begins at Bukit Kiara in Taman Tun Dr Ismail and ends in Sungai Klang, has been adopted by the Selangor government in the one-state-one-river policy.

Lim said that the upgrading and beautification works involved the building of a walkway in the playground next to the river, and improved embankments over a distance of 800m, and these jobs were scheduled to be completed by the end of this month, in time for the Hari Raya celebration. 

“An allocation of RM40,000 has been given for upgrading works,” he said during a site visit in Section 19 on Sunday. 

Lim said the month-long face-lift project was part of a three-pronged effort to rehabilitate Sungai Penchala. 

The three objectives are: 

(1) to cut down the level of pollution from Grade 5 to Grade 2 by year 2015; 

(2) to transform the river bank into a recreational area to promote community participation in maintaining the river; and 

(3) to ensure the river remains free of rubbish and to prevent it overflowing during flood. 

“We hope the upgrading and beautification works will inspire residents and park visitors to love the river, and take the initiative to care for it,” Lim said. 

He said that the Section 19 Residents Association and the Global Environment Centre had been maintaining the river over the last three years.  

According to residents association chairman Tan Yew Leong, the pollution level at the Section 19 part of the river was previously at Grade 5, and it had taken the last three years to reduce it to the current Grade 4 level.  

“The site was formerly a squatter area, so there was a lot of rubbish and the embankment was overgrown with lallang,” Tan said. “Once the upgrading work is completed, we hope to mobilise the community for a gotong-royong and perhaps get the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to sponsor us some plants to further beautify the area.”  

Residents association member Simon Khoo lauded the upgrading work and said that the park was looking very nice.  

“The residents have actually made the effort to plant trees around the fringes of the park and the embankment of the river. It's nice that they are taking ownership of this place,” Khoo said.  

Lim, meanwhile, appealed to corporate bodies to help sponsor the river beautification works.