Tube well project delivers clean water to three villages in Sik, Kedah

SIK: About 550 residents in three villages here, can now access clean water thanks to a RM500,000 tube well constructed in Kampung Bukit Batu.

Completed a month ago, this initiative was implemented by Yayasan Ikhlas as part of the Clean Water Supply System Development Project, marking the third such project in the district.

Yayasan Ikhlas Board of Trustees chairman Prof Dr Zainur Rashid Zainuddin, said the project benefits residents in Kampung Bukit Batu, Kampung Bukit Berangan, and Kampung Kubang.

“This project, funded by Lembaga Tabung Haji, includes a 64-metre-deep tube well to extract groundwater, a water storage tower, and a new piping system to supply clean water to 150 households.

“This project is the largest project in the district compared to the previous two in Kampung Tanah Hitam and Kampung Jelutong,“ he said at a ceremony to launch the clean water supply system in Kampung Bukit Batu, near here yesterday.

Zainur Rashid also noted that Yayasan Ikhlas has identified several other villages with clean water issues for future projects.

“We aim to complete five projects annually in Kedah to help residents with water shortages. The next project will be in Kampung Charok Putih, Baling, soon,“ he said.

Since 2022, Yayasan Ikhlas has completed 10 similar projects nationwide, including three in Sabah, Sarawak, and Kedah, and one in Pahang.

Md Sabri Hamid, 53, a resident of Kampung Kubang, said this was the first time the village had received a reliable supply of clean water.

“Syarikat Air Darul Aman (SADA) provides water, but due to the hilly terrain, the pressure is too weak to reach homes in all three villages,” he added.

Md Sabri said the villagers were deeply grateful when Yayasan Ikhlas provided clean water, adding that the project, expected to take nine months, was completed ahead of schedule in just seven months thanks to everyone’s full commitment.

Meanwhile, Mahfuz Ahmad, 40, from Kampung Bukit Berangan, expressed his relief that clean water had been available directly to homes for the past month.

“Previously, rain would make the community water source from Bukit Batu, about a kilometre away, murky. Residents had to store water, but now that issue has been resolved,“ he said.