KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 – The Batu Caves temple wants the Selangor state government to intervene to resolve the long standing issue of the cable car construction project in Batu Caves. Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam Temple committee chairman Tan Sri R. Nadarajah said the Selangor state government’s intervention was needed to resolve the crisis facing the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) and the temple over the delayed project.
“MPS has approved the project and we have began construction works. Suddenly MPS ordered the project to be stopped and asked that several documents be submitted to them. We have provided all the documents, including plans to MPS. But until now there is no green light from them,” he said in Batu Caves here on Monday.
In 2011, a memorandum of understanding between Sri Maha Mariamman temple managmeent and Damodar Ropeways and Constructions Pty Ltd was signed to build a cable car service stretching 250 metres in Batu Caves. Construction of the RM10 million project should have been completed in 2014 to facilitate easy access for senior citizens, disabled and tourists to visit the top most cave in Batu Caves without having to climb the 272 steps to reach there.
However MPS halted the construction works on June 6, 2014 after several construction structures around Batu Caves were said to have been built without permits. The alleged structures included the 42.7-metre high statue of Lord Murugan and the 272 temple steps.
Nadarajah said the issue had been brought to the attention of previous Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and the current one, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali but there was no positive development. He also claimed that MPS did not give approval for any projects being planned in Batu Caves, including the construction of the Indian Culture Centre, which received an allocation of RM2 million from the federal government in 2012.
