Dear Editor,
I refer to 18 June's ST article 'PUB's work comes under scrutiny' where Members of Parliament and experts "questioned if a lack of maintenance was behind the flooding of Orchard Road on Wednesday". While I do agree that PUB may need to increase the frequency of drain checks, I wonder how much of the debris that had caused the drain to be choked had been made up of tissue paper, plastic wrappers and other types of litter carelessly tossed by pedestrians who assumed that our regular army of cleaners would clean them up.
It is typical of Singaporeans to cry for blood and find someone to take the blame when things go wrong. However, this incident may be a timely reminder indeed, that our littering habit has finally caught up with us and nipped us in the butt where it hurt most. Damages caused by the flood could amount to hundreds of thousands, if not millions.
While authorities such as PUB can install more sensors to detect rising water levels and so on, the average Singaporean can also look at his own part to blame in this disaster. Perhaps, just as the flood was made up of millions of small drops of rain water, ultimately creating the massive force that swept through Orchard Road unexpectedly, the debris that choked the drain at Orchard Road may also have been the consequence of several bits of litter thrown by inconsiderate Singaporeans daily.
What's worse, while business owners were frantically trying to save their goods from being soaked by the gushing flood water, passers-by happily looted the goods that had floated out of the shops, some even asking their friends to join them. Does this behaviour reflect our status as a developed nation?
If the flash flood had taken place during the Youth Olympic Games, I would be more embarrassed by Singaporeans' behaviour than by the flood itself.
(An edited version of my letter was published in the Straits Times on 19th June.) :)
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