Villagers to maintain cleanliness themselves

Star: IPOH: Villagers of Bagan Panchor, where there was a Chikungunya outbreak recently, have opted to maintain cleanliness in the village themselves, instead of letting the local authorities do the job.
State Urban and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Chang Ko Youn said the villagers had turned down the offer to come under a district council as they did not want to pay assessment rates or have their activities regulated.
“Some of them conduct business activities at home and being placed under a local council means they would have to apply for business premises and advertising licences,” he said yesterday.
“The community felt that their present stage of development did not require them to come under either the Manjung or Taiping municipal council.
“They are not ready for such a financial burden,” Chang said.
Following the outbreak of the measles-like disease at the fishing village near Pantai Remis, about 98km from here, the 1,300 villagers were told to decide whether to let local authorities look after the cleanliness of their surroundings or do the job themselves.
Chikungunya, an urban disease resembling dengue, is a relatively rare form of viral fever caused by an alphavirus that is spread by the Aedes mosquito.
Chang said the level of cleanliness had improved considerably after local authorities helped to clean up and collect rubbish there.