By Aida Aziz
IPOH: The Ipoh City Council (MBI) has carried out Phase One maintenance works on roadside trees across eight major zones in the city to ensure they remain safe, healthy and well-managed.
The maintenance works, conducted by MBI’s Landscape and Parks Department, involved a total of 2,503 trees of various sizes at a cost of nearly RM1.4 million.
In a statement, MBI said the areas covered were Sengat, Lapangan, Rapat, Menglembu, Jelapang, Pengkalan, Manjoi and Meru.
“The implementation of this contract involves additional works carried out using MBI’s special allocation to speed up the maintenance of roadside trees at identified locations.
“MBI acknowledges that there have been delays in resolving some internal complaints due to the high number of reports received, which exceeded the department’s current capacity.
“The implementation of this contract complements the ongoing tree maintenance works carried out internally by the MBI Landscape and Parks Department throughout Ipoh, aimed at expediting action and improving public safety,” it said.
A total of 2,171 tree pruning and maintenance works were carried out, involving the trimming of branches to reduce stress on tree structures.
The works also aimed to improve canopy balance and reduce the risk of branches breaking during bad weather or strong winds.
Meanwhile, 332 tree removal works were carried out involving dead, decayed, damaged trees or those identified as posing high risks to public safety and property based on technical inspections.
“These works are carried out according to schedule and priority based on field inspections, public complaints and risk assessments by technical officers from the Landscape and Parks Department.
“The selection of work locations is based on complaints received from the public, monitoring and technical assessments by the Landscape and Parks Department, as well as reports submitted by MBI councillors.
“Each location will be prioritised according to its risk level to ensure maintenance actions are carried out more effectively, systematically and in a focused manner,” it added.
