A fall into the pit

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Kuala Lumpur should establish a comprehensive underground mapping system for city infrastructure and utilities, if it does not already have one, said Malaysian experts and politicians.

President of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia, or IEM, Jeffrey Chiang Choong Luin, said the recent sinkhole that swallowed 48-year-old Indian tourist Vijaya Lakshmi in Jalan Masjid India, or "Little India", in the city center of Kuala Lumpur, highlighted urgent need for action.

Heavy rain that deluged Kuala Lumpur in the past weeks meant there was a lot of fast-moving water in the sinkhole and sewer, complicating the search efforts.

The Malaysian authorities said a portion of a large concrete sewer at the bottom of the sinkhole was broken, and the victim might have fallen in and been swept away.

A second sinkhole appeared in Jalan Masjid India on Aug 28, about 50 meters from the first one on Aug 23, causing further alarm.

"This is an opportunity to leverage technology and map out the city's intricate underground infrastructure. With the right resources and determination, future disasters can be prevented," Chiang told The Star.

"Furthermore, IEM is willing to assist in this crucial endeavor, should the DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) be open to collaboration," he added.

IEM, which has over 50,000 members, had earlier issued a statement regarding the Jalan Masjid India sinkhole incident, urging DBKL to conduct a thorough investigation and offering its expertise to support the effort.

The organization called for more stringent safety checks by qualified professional engineers in the design, construction and supervision of critical infrastructure to prevent a recurrence.

In 2020, The Star reported that then Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan had ordered an interagency study with utility companies to map out the extensive network of underground cables and pipes in the capital city, prompted by the increasing number of sinkholes.

Nor Hisham said that while Kuala Lumpur had developed a basic framework for addressing such issues, significant challenges remained due to aging infrastructure, some of which were over 50 years old.

In a recent interview, Nor Hisham stressed the need for comprehensive underground mapping for Kuala Lumpur as well as good collaboration between agencies.

During his tenure, Nor Hisham said he had difficulties obtaining accurate underground mapping due to lack of cooperation from utility companies.

"One of the significant challenges we faced was getting utility companies on board with the mapping process.