The Little India Palava pillars located along Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields were damaged in an accident. DBKL is appealing for witnesses to come forward.
TWO of the decorative pillars in Little India, Brickfields were destroyed in an apparent crash presumably between Sunday evening and Monday morning.
The pillars, known as Palava columns, were built by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in 2010.
Shopowners were shocked to find the broken pillars when they opened for business Monday morning.
“It looked like someone bombed the place,” said Ahmed Khan who works in a sundry shop a few doors away.
“There was rubble everywhere and a signboard from one of the shops was also down,’’ said Ahmed.
Maya Fashion boutique that faced the broken pillar suffered the most damage.
“Our signboard was on the ground, probably from the impact of the crash, and the water meter pipe was also damaged,” said Honey Sehgal, a staff member of the boutique.
“We closed at about 8.30pm on Sunday evening, if anything had happened it would have happened after that or early Monday morning,’’ said Honey.
image: http://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/online/2017/09/27/20/35/metd_sg_2809_-adpila2609_pg3_sheila_1.ashx?h=617&w=400&la=en
An employee from one of the stores in Little India pointing to the damaged water meter.
“It will easily cost a few thousand ringgit to repair the damage,” he said.
He added that the CCTV at the shop was also not functioning due to a short circuit a few days ago and was not able to capture the crash.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) executive director (planning) Datuk Mohd Najib Mohd is calling for witnesses or anyone with video image of the accident to help out.
“If and when we find those responsible for this, we will make them pay for the damage,” he said.
“This is unacceptable, people who go around destroying public property must be made accountable for their actions. I appeal to anyone with proof to come forward,’’ he said.
A spokesman from DBKL’s traffic surveillance system – Itis (Integrated Transport Information System) operations centre – said none of their cameras faced the area where the pillars were located.
“Perhaps we need to work with the police to see if anyone had reported an accident during that period; it is our best shot,” the spokesman said.
Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KLSICCI) president Datuk Dr V. Shanmuganathan said he would pool resources from his members and contacts to catch the culprit.
“I will meet members today and we will help investigate the matter,’’ he said.
The Palava-inspired pillars or columns was part of the multi-million ringgit beautification project for Little India in Jalan Tun Sambanthan.
It became the township’s trademark and some say it added charm to the area.
The project was spearheaded by the Federal Territories Ministry with an initial cost of RM32mil.
The first phase was completed to welcome the then Indian Prime Dr Manmohan Singh on Oct 27, 2010.
Costing RM17mil, the project comprised arches, the repainting of buildings and expansion of the five-foot way fronting restaurants along Jalan Travers.
A giant fountain costing RM3mil was also built.
Phase II involved the construction of a multi-storey carpark and the Pines Restaurant, the second Little India gateway or Torana near the Brickfields police station and the construction of the Lorong Chan Ah Tong hawker centre near Kortumalai Restaurant.
Anyone with details, can call DBKL’s toll free hotline at 1800-88-3255.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2017/09/28/brickfields-columns-damaged-in-accident-dbkl-calls-for-witnesses-to-help-catch-those-responsible-for/#48T8uoEsbJztqUFH.99
