Waterfall picnic area closed after testing positive for
leptospirosis
October 22, 2015
JOHOR BARU: The Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest has been
ordered closed to the public for three months after water samples taken from
the waterfall tested positive for leptospirosis.
A notice on the closure – under the directive of the Johor
Health Department and the State Forestry Department – has been put at the
entrance of the recreational forest.
State Health and Environment committee chairman Datuk Ayub
Rahmat said it was a precautionary measure to ensure that visitors were not
exposed to the bacteria.
He said water samples that tested positive were taken by the
Kulai Health Department officers from the picnic and waterfall areas in Gunung
Pulai 1 and 2.
He said the lackadaisical attitude of visitors and
picnickers who indiscriminately dumped rubbish and leftover food in the
recreational area had made the area “a perfect breeding ground for rodents”.
“Although there are notice boards in the area requesting
visitors to keep the place clean and not to dump rubbish, they continue to do
so,” he said.
Another round of testing will be conducted after three
months before any decision on reopening the recreational area is made.
Kulai Municipal Council public relations officer Halim
Ridaudin said there were adequate rubbish bins in the area.
“Many take the easy way out by littering, knowing the
authorities will clear the rubbish,” he said, adding that the council would
assist the contractors to clean the area within these three months.
Gunung Pulai is a 654m high hill near Kulai, and easily
reached by the North South Expressway after exiting the Kulai toll plaza.
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