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KUALA LUMPUR: The daily routine of residents in some parts of the Klang Valley has been greatly disrupted and many have had to take a water license with the prolonged unscheduled water outage.
A checkpoint in Jalan Setiawangsa here saw it congested with residents parking their vehicles along the two-lane road to fetch water from public pipes that also served neighboring Taman Keramat.
Residents have been flocking here since Thursday night armed with water containers since they were caught off guard by the water outage.
Mazlan Mat Hussain, 44, said he had to take time off from work to stock up on water for his family.
“My wife cannot cook, wash clothes and wash dishes,” the 44-year-old employee said yesterday, adding that his three children had to miss school.
Mazlan, who lives on the fourth floor of an apartment in Taman Keramat, said he had to make frequent trips to the pipes to store enough water.
Othman Jamaluddin, 53, who operates his own travel agency, said he had to shut down the business for a day.
“I have to go out to buy food because my wife cannot cook,” said the Setiawangsa resident. He was upset that water outages had become common in the Klang Valley.
“I am supposed to be at the mosque today for Friday prayers, but instead I was queuing to get water. By the action of some irresponsible polluter, consumers have to bear the consequences, “he said.
Official Azizul Hassan, 52, said many were considering a trip to Balik Kampung to wait for the disruption to pass.
“Hopefully this situation does not last as it would upset many, especially those with young children,” he said.
Like Othman, Azizul said that he would also buy food outside.
“When I went to the wet market this morning, there weren’t many street vendors because there was no water,” he said.
Businesses were also severely affected.
The owner of the Choy Kee restaurant in Damansara Jaya said that he could only provide take-out food and serve a simple breakfast to customers due to limited water supplies.
“Other stalls could not open due to the interruption of water,” said Wong Lai Khoon, 55.
The owner of the Meng Kee pan mee stall, Shirley Wong, 59, said that despite having several tanks of water in storage, it could only last two days.
“If the water doesn’t come back, we won’t be able to open the next day.
“We had stored filtered water for day-to-day operations after frequent water outages two years ago, but this outage has hit us badly,” he told The Star from his post in Taman Kok Lian, Kuala Lumpur.
A street vendor who just wanted to be known as Hasnah, 54, said she had to close the store earlier than usual.
“I was able to cook some food with the water from the day before. But if the cut persists, I won’t be able to do business tomorrow, ”he said.
Another merchant who only wanted to be known as Norshahizan, 60, said he had to cancel some orders.
“I will not be able to cook without water. I had to inform my clients and they were understanding, ”he said.
He added that he would buy bottled water from the supermarket for his use.
“I am concerned about gathering in public pipes in the middle of the pandemic,” Norshahizan said.
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