IPOH, July 25 — Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said there is no necessity to conduct cloud seeding over the Taiping Lake Gardens despite the drying conditions due to extreme weather and lack of rainfall.
Saarani said that the lake only serves as a recreational area and does not have the same importance as the Bukit Merah dam, which is the primary water source for agriculture activities in the area.
“We need to understand that the cost of cloud seeding is expensive and there is no desperate necessity to do cloud seeding at the Taiping lake as it is only for recreational purposes,” Saarani said after attending the Perak Women Town Hall meeting at the Casuarina Meru Hotel.
He added, “We will let nature take its course; conditions will improve and return to normal with rainfall.”
Saarani also mentioned that other mitigation plans, such as pumping water from nearby rivers to fill the lake, are unnecessary.
“This involves cost. At the Bukit Merah dam, such measures were necessary as we need to save the agriculture activities there,” he said.
Yesterday, The Star reported that the condition of Taiping Lake Gardens was severe as it continued drying up for two weeks due to lack of rainfall.
Pokok Assam assemblyman Ong Seng Guan said about 40 per cent of the lake was affected due to the lack of rainfall.
“The temperature had also risen to quite high, with some folk saying nearly 40 degrees Celsius,” Ong said.
“It is quite a dire situation, as a few waterfalls and rivers near Bukit Larut have also dried up,” he added.
