Saturday October 31, 2009
The Star
Story and photos by ELAN PERUMAL
SOME shoplots in Batang Berjuntai town in Kuala Selangor has been turned into homes for swiflets by breeders who seem to be capitalising on every available space for their activity.
Besides turning empty shoplots into swiflet breeding grounds, these breeders have also converted the back portion of shophouses as homes for the birds.
Almost all the shophouses along Jalan Kuala Selangor, which is the main road, have become swiflets breeding grou-nds.
There are several multi-storey buildings with massive extensions at the back where breeders conduct their activity.
Besides the town, the Bestari Jaya business centre has been also conqured by the swiflet breeders.
The breeders have converted the first floor of the vacant two-storey shoplots into breeding grounds. Some have also built an additional floor on the rooftop of the buildings to lure more birds.
A few of these breeders have also put signboards outside the building claiming that they are members of the swiflet breeding association.
Restaurant operator Rosli Sukiman, 45, said the swiflets were causing a lot of inconvenience to the people in the area.
Besides the noise pollution, he said, their droppings were also found all over the place, including on the vehicles that were parked outside the shops.
“Many of the vacant shoplots in the township have been turned into swiflet breeding spots,’’ he said
Another trader, who wished to be remain anonymous, said the presence of the swiflets was not good for the image of the town.
He said more and more business operators were closing their business and moving to other areas due to the situation.
“I hope the authorities will find a way to stop breeders from operating from shophouses,’’ he added.
well, these were empty shoplots. Are vacant shoplots good for the image of the town?? At least now they are not left to decay. The owners have pumped in lots of their hard earned money to renovate it for swiftlet farming.
ReplyDeleteNot too sure about bird droppings but noise is certainly the main nuisance caused by inconsiderate and swiftlet farmers.
Also not too sure that it is causing businesses to move away, if there are plenty of empty shoplots then business is not likely to be doing too well in the first place.