PASIR GUDANG, Oct 31 (Bernama) — The Johor government will seek the assistance of the Defence Ministry (MINDEF) to secure additional water tankers to overcome the water supply disruption here caused by a burst pipe last Friday.

Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG) was also assisting by coordinating the delivery of the water tankers to residential areas.

“For the short term, MBPG Mayor Datuk Asman Shah Abdul Rahman and the assemblyman are working together so that water tankers could be sent out.

“I have contacted MINDEF for additional water tankers and also the Fire and Rescue Department and other agencies.

“So, we already have the coordination for a short-term solution to assist the affected homes,” he said at a press conference after visiting the location of the burst pipe in Seri Alam here today.

Also present was SAJ Ranhill Network Director Khairul Effendy Tusam.

Meanwhile, Khairul Effendy said the supply of clean water to the affected areas including the Plentong and Masai zones and Tanjung Langsat was expected to be restored in stages beginning tomorrow night.

He also said they were also working hard to repair the burst pipe under challenging conditions made worst by heavy rain last night.

“We expect repair works to be completed tomorrow evening which means water supply is expected to return in stages and at the latest, it might take 12 hours after the pipe is repaired. So we urge the public to be patient and pray that everything goes smoothly,” he said.

He said the burst pipe incident occurred last Thursday when Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd was laying pipes which affected water supply to 100,000 account holders.

“When supply was stopped, it affected 100,000 account holders but after we made a realignment of the water supply system, we managed to reduce the number to 60,000,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency