KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Business operators at Jalan Masjid India are calling on authorities to conduct a thorough inspection of the area affected by the recent sinkhole.
Speaking to Malay Mail, scarf seller Yana Nasir said in the past three days, businesses in the area have experienced significant disruptions.
“The situation has been chaotic, the reason why we are still operating is because we still need to pay our staff.
“If we don’t open, things will only get worse and we will not be able to pay our employees. Unfortunately, we had no choice as this incident happened unexpectedly,” she told Malay Mail when approached.
The 35-year-old business owner expressed hope that authorities will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the entire area, particularly around the shop locations.
She noted that the area had been shut down for over a month earlier due to ground subsidence issues, but the problem has now returned.
“I hope authorities will inspect the entire area, especially around the shop. Before this, they had to close the area for over a month, but the problem has recurred,” she said.
She explained that the situation is also affecting their business, with a significant drop in customer numbers, with daily income only between RM20 and RM50.
She said business owners are calling for immediate action from the authorities to resolve the issue, as it is a major route and is severely impacting their business.
“I have instructed my staff and family to prioritise safety in case of further subsidence.
“I hope the authorities will monitor the area comprehensively to ensure safety. If the situation does not improve, we may need to consider relocating our business,” she said.
Mahathevan Thanggamal, 58, who operates a saree shop, said that people are staying away from the area because of safety and health concerns.
“I feel that people are avoiding the area due to concerns about safety or health issues. Yesterday, despite operating for 12 hours, we only had 5 customers, and I couldn’t sleep because of these worries.
“Business was better before the sinkhole problems, as many people, including tourists, used to shop here. Now, people just pass by to see the sinkhole and do not even enter the store,” she said.
She also expressed concern about the state of the surrounding roads and feels unsure about what could happen while walking on them.
For Kaladevi, she said the business has slowed dramatically, with less than 10 customers per day.
Similar to Mahathevan, she said her business was doing okay before the sinkhole incident around the area happened.
“We used to have better business, but in the last two days, we’ve had fewer than 10 customers per day. We were doing okay before the sinkhole appeared,” she said.
The 38-year-old woman further said she is worried about the future of their operations due to the significant drop in customer numbers.
Based on the observations at the area, Malay Mail found that a large portion of the area has been barricaded, with a few individuals observing from outside the barriers.
Police officers are seen to be scattered around the area to manage the situation and prevent people from approaching too close to the sinkhole.
An intermittent, though not overwhelming, unpleasant odour is also detectable from the area near the sinkhole.
In an 8.22am incident on Friday, 48-year-old Vijayaletchumy, a tourist from Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh, India, was walking in front of Malayan Mansion, Jalan Masjid India before she fell into a sinkhole that had opened up beneath her.
Currently, there are no recent updates from the police or fire department about the progress of the search and rescue efforts.
