BATANG IGAN: The reliance on water from the river and rain water harvesting for the past 40 years or so is now history for the residents of Kampung Bungan Besar and Kecil of Batang Igan here.
This was following the completion of Etiqa‘s Clean Water Supply Project (ECWSP) which was officially launched by Etiqa Family Takaful and Etiqa General Takaful Berhad (Etiqa) chairman Datuk Majid Mohamad yesterday.
The project was implemented by Etiqa and implemented in collaboration with Islamic Aid Malaysia (IAM) as part of Etiqa’s corporate responsibility (CR) commitment towards healthy living, under its Etiqa Care flagship programme.
Known as a Clean Water Supply Project Community Programme, the historic event of sorts for some 1,050 villagers of the two villages including longhouse residents there was held at Kampung Bungan Besar.
The event was followed by the cutting of a ribbon and turning on of water taps at the compound Rumah George Ak Ugat near the Kampung Bungan Besar.
Also seen at the function were IAM president Zawahir Abdullah, Etiqa chief strategic officer Chris Eng, Etiqa’s Regional CEO Sarawak Wong Chee Tung, Kpg Bungan Besar chieftain Sulaiman Hassim, Kpg Bungan Kecil chieftain Musa and Longhouse chief George Ak Ugat.
Through ECWSP, a piping system was built to supply water from the river directly into the homes, with the installation of communal water tanks equipped with filters to clear the water of impurities to make it safe for the villagers to use.
In his speech at the event, Majid urged the residents to regard the facility as their own and to make full use of it wisely.
“I want you all to have a sense of belonging towards this facility especially with regards to maintaining it for the benefit of the whole community. Since last year, through our Etiqa Cares projects we have been giving back to the community and we have successfully carried out clean water supply projects in other parts of the country, namely Kpg Talungan, Telipok, Sabah, Kpg Chuchoh Puteri, Kuala Krai, Kelantan, and Kpg Durau and Kpg Batu Ring in Leggong, Perak which had benefitted more than 2,400 rural folk,” he disclosed.
He also revealed that the project which took 12 weeks to complete was very efficient, reliable and above all, the water is safe for consumption as it is well-filtered before it is connected to homes.
Meanwhile, village chieftain Sulaiman and longhouse chief George who also spoke at the separate functions thanked Etiqa for coming up with the community programme and hoped it will not be the last.
Upon arrival in the village, the visitors who boarded speedboats from Sibu were welcomed with a Melanau traditional dance at Kpg Bungan Besar and an Iban welcoming dance at Rumah George Ak Ugat.
It is learnt that in the last four decades, the villagers were relying on water from the Batang Igan River and rain water harvesting system for their daily needs where at times the water supply was disrupted leading to insufficient water for drinking, cooking or bathing.
Among the activities held was the presentation of prizes to winners of the various competitions held during a telematch as part of the programme.
