A few days of heavy evening showers were all the encouragement needed for part of the hillslope at the edge of the Sivan Temple to collapse. This picture, taken on March 23 2007, shows the hasty measures taken to cover the area with blue tarpaulin to stem further slips.

Landslides are a regular occurence in the Gasing Hill area because of the particular soil combination of sandstone and shale which is prone to becoming weighed down with rainwater. It then slips easily away from the beds of shale.

Section five residents that were adults in 1974 remember well the catastrophic landslide that partially buried the government bungalows close to the entrance of the Gasing Forest trail. These former house sites are now covered over with trees and bushes. Only the drain culverts which formed their front driveways indicate these were once house sites.

How easily we forget the lessons of the past. The development proposed on the Kerinchi side of the Hill involves slopes much steeper than these and will be done on a massive scale. There will be a dialogue with DBKL on April 12 2007 at which the concerns of the community and residents’ associations about the bungalow project to be undertaken Gasing Meridien Sdn Bhd will be aired. Let’s hope that wisdom and good governance will prevail in the decisions made.