KANGAR, Dec 10 — The Perlis government plans to develop a 600 hectare (ha) site to produce paddy seeds to tackle the shortage of paddy seeds in the state.
State Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman Nurulhisham Yaakob said Perlis needed 3,006 metric tonnes of paddy seeds a season and would need 500 to 600 ha of paddy field to produce the seeds.
‘’As a preliminary measure, the state government had provided a 270 ha paddy plantation in Tambun Tulang and Guar Sanji but their productions have yet to achieve the required amount,’’ he told the State Assembly today.
He said this when answering to a question from Datuk Ismail Kassim (BN-Tambun Tulang) on the action of the state government to solve the problems of shortage of certified paddy seeds in Perlis.
He said the state government had also urged farmers to grow their own seeds as they had done in the past.
Meanwhile, Syarikat Air Perlis (SAP) had set several key factors for certain guidelines in the effort to replace dilapidated water supply pipes and restore the water supply system in the state.
State Public Facilities and Infrastructure Committee chairman Hamizan Hassan said among the factors given were the replacement of obsolete Asbestos Cement water pipes that could not withstand high pressure, including clogged and rusty galvanised iron pipes.
“Areas that are the focuses (hotspots) listed for the proposed replacement are at Jalan Besar Kuala Perlis, Jalan Alor Sena, Santan and Jalan Mata Ayer.
“The average frequency of pipe leakage complaints and low water pressure due to clogged pipes is up to 30 cases per month.
‘’Apart from that, there are also other problems that lead to pipe replacement work such as being no longer on the shoulders of the Public Works Department (JKR) roads after road widening work, “he said at the Perlis State Assembly, today.
Hamizan (BN-Kayang) was answering a question posed by Asrul Nisan Abd Jalil (PKR-Sena) who wanted to know what the SAP guidelines were in choosing which ‘hotspot’ area to replace obsolete, leaked and broken pipes as well as the complaints received. — Bernama