SINGAPORE: Farmers at the Lim Chu Kang area have sent a petition
with 1,000 signatures to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, calling
for an end to storing granite in their backyard.
The government has explained that storing granite is part of its
strategy to ensure that there is an adequate supply of essential
building materials to tide the construction industry over in the
short term, due to Indonesias ban in granite exports to
Singapore.
The granite stockpile, which nearly covers an area of 20 football
fields, is located in the Kranji countryside where a variety of
fruits and vegetables is produced.
The 20 farmers who form the Kranji Countryside Association are
worried that their crops may be affected, despite efforts by the
Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to reduce dust by
erecting a 6mhigh fence around the granite stockpile.
That is why they decided to send their produce, along with the
petition, to the prime minister at the Istana, hoping that he could
help reverse the decision to store granite in their backyard.
Kenny Eng, VicePresident of Kranji Countryside Association, said:
"When we started the petition, we just wanted to see for ourselves
whether Singaporeans and tourists felt the same way. Within a short
twoandahalf weeks, we hit 1,000 signatures. It shows that
Singaporeans are really concerned."
One of the Singaporeans said: "This is probably the only place
(countryside) left in Singapore. So I think the granite should not
be placed here."
A tourist said: "The dust and the debris from the concrete, etc
could have an effect on the plants."
"Its a great shame; they are trying to get children interested in
the environment by teaching them about vegetables. A lot of
children should see the sort of landscape that was Singapore before
so many buildings went up," another said.
Farmers at Kranji are also worried that the fence around the
granite stockpile may prevent sunlight from reaching the
farms.
They agreed that granite stockpiling is necessary, but they do not
want it in their backyard.
But the BCA, which has consulted the farmers, explained that it had
already studied possible sites for stockpiling and Lim Chu Kang was
selected because it is away from densely builtup urban
areas.
BCA also added that due care would be taken to mitigate any
negative impact on the environment, which includes having a
designated route for trucks, and adequate drainage to discharge
rainwater.
CNA/so
