Petaling jaya: As one of those affected by the ongoing water crisis in Selangor, I was forced to endure the nightmare of being struck by severe diarrhoea during a shortage.
My stomach started acting up on Feb 13, the sixth day since the taps in some 150 houses in Damai Murni, Alam Damai in Cheras, ran dry.
Just imagine having to run to the toilet, weak-kneed, for over 10 times, all the while knowing that there was no available water source to clean up.
It was really disgusting and unhygienic but thankfully, I was saved by a Good Samaritan, a neighbour, who generously allowed us to get water from his house nearby whenever we needed it.
Because his source of water comes from another reservoir, his area is not affected although his house is just a five-minute walk from mine.
That generous man, whom I heard is a Datuk, leaves his gates open so that neighbours can draw water from the tap in his compound as well as the two big tanks left there.
As of today, I will have gone without water in my home for 19 days since Feb 8, an event I could never have imagined happening in the Klang Valley.
These past two-and-a-half weeks have certainly been an eye-opener for me and my family on how scary it is to be without water.
Flushing the toilet, boiling drinking water and brushing our teeth, all these are small tasks we always take for granted.
Now, my family and I will have to go to our nearest relative’s house to bathe and wash our clothes every day as well as eat out for dinner.
If I have to go to work, then I will bring my toiletries along and shower at my office gym.
I’m also lucky that there are water filter machines at Menara Star and that I can refill three 1.5 litre bottles every day for me to take home.
We use this water for drinking and light cooking and I shudder to think of how much money I would have spent buying mineral water by now.
To be honest, I think it is outrageous that we, in Selangor, the richest state in Malaysia, are suffering from water issues.
I have suffered many disruptions in water supply ever since I moved to Cheras from Penang over a decade ago but the shortages between Jan 31 and Feb 2 and again from Feb 8 onwards take the cake.
Not only did Syabas not give us any notice that our supply would be cut, it happened during Chinese New Year when the Chinese do lots of cleaning and cooking.
The Syabas water supply trucks only came after we made a lot of complaints and when it did finally arrive without advance notice, it was at 11pm on Feb 11.
I managed to get water that day but when it came again on Feb 13, water had run out by the time it was my turn.
If I had to make one wish for this year, it would be that Selangor’s water issues be resolved once and for all.
– THE STAR
