Took this photo with my iPhone this morning.It wasn't even raining today. But the MRT station was still leaking water from the ceiling.
The dripping was not so bad today. They didn't need a bucket. They just placed several layers of rags on the floor to soak up the water.
Still, one wonders - if not the rain, then where is the water coming from?
Leaky water pipes? Leaky air-conditioners? Leaky sewage pipes? Hmmm.
24 comments:
How come you're taking the MRT and squeezing with the rest of the peasants?
There was a down pour yesterday afternoon, ya?
But, Lucky, I am a peasant. :D
Well, yes, there are such things as rich peasants.
Doesn't matter rich or poor, if you want to live like a peasant, then you are a peasant. Because of your choice, your money looks like got no value or purpose.
If you are not rich but live like a king(on borrowed money), then you are a king until the money runs out.
If you are a dictator, you are so until the people's patience runs out.
mr wang, i loved your response on being a peasant. LOL
Good for renovation people when things don't last. Plenty of digging, turfing, tiling, patching and then re-tiling, re-digging and re-turfing. I think the upgrading of HDB serves the purpose of killing two birds with one stone. This is one way to create jobs and keep the unemployment rate low.
It could be condensation from the air-con pipe due to insufficient insulation.
Investigation of leaks is quite difficult and time-consuming. Not to say that the MRT staff shouldn't do something about it. I expect that, as with all new builds, there is now a dispute over who is responsible (the contractors who built the station or the MRT which has accepted it as fit for purpose).
When I lived up the street at the Borough in London, the lower level of my flat (including one bathroom and a utility room) started to flood one year. The landlady hired people to investigate, but no results. Finally, the water company took a sample of the water. They can then tell if it's groundwater, sewer water, or fresh water from the water pipes. It turned out to be the latter, and when they dug up the street they discovered that the cable company, when installing its conduits, had inadvertently broken the water main and just filled in the hole rather than call the water company to fix the pipe.
Time to bring this to the attention of the authorities, perhaps through a letter to the ST? Not that they are certain to print it...
"The dripping was not so bad today. They didn't need a bucket. They just placed several layers of rags on the floor to soak up the water."
Mr Wang
Be patient lah. Maybe they have already called the professionals to investigate to fix it. And pending the outcome, this is just their temporary fix.
Give them the benefit of the doubt, although this should not have happened in the first place.
But leak or no leak, people will still have to take the MRT. Unless they prefer the expensive but more comfortable and convenient choice of having their own transport.
For the same reasons why the PAP will win again, because there is no better alternative to form the government. Unless the people emigrate to a better place with a better government.
Dhboy Ghaut MRT station has been leaking for a few years already.
It's charming .... Gives Singapore the "3rd world" feel.
Didn't Mr Wang mentioned some time ago he bought a car? True also parking in CBD is so expensive, so no point driving in.
My wife takes the car. I take the MRT.
Clarke Quay MRT also leaking. At least a month and still counting. Plenty of buckets and rags there too! It addtion, it drips rusty water on the escalator! I now clong to the right side while using that escalator.
Are there issues with the rainwater not sinking fast enough underground due to the extensive building of tunnels for MRT, sewage and military storage areas below surface? I hope not.
Singapore is an island. Maybe the water is seeping in from the sea! Hahaha.
It is a once-in-a-fifty-year leak only. Moreover, you cannot expect to have no leaks in Singapore. Even the world has a wikileaks, why not Singapore?!
So, don't be daft and put some spurs in your hide and equip yourself with an affordable umbrella for such situations.
Singaporeans must be 'less strict' with their expectations because our foreign influx of better , betterer and betterst talents has slowed this year.
Actually the CTE tunnel near the CBD area also leak all the time. My concern is are the leaks be it CTE tunnel or those MRT stations (those under or near the rivers) result in a total collapse as in the structural issue and not a simple leak.
Mr Wang,
Speaking of karma, you believed in self-reliance in your previous post, so should you not also accept that MRT is not here to serve your needs? Their interest may or may not coincide with yours of having a leak-proof MRT roof.
What the hell are you complaining about?! If you're smart, go to another station or just buy another car.
Mr Wang is upset because it is now a problem closer to home?
You're right, in a sense.
I don't believe that the Singapore government has the capability or desire to solve the problem. Basically their minds are all focused in the wrong directions these days.
What's important is for people to realise that (1) the problems exist, and (2) the government isn't going to fix them, and (3) basically you just have to figure out your own solutions.
So my post serves the purpose of helping people to realise these things.
As I said, the leaky MRT problem is just a sign, a metaphor, for all the many things going wrong in Singapore, for which we can blame the government, but which we cannot, as a practical matter, realistically expect the government to address/solve.
(This is entirely regardless of the fact that we all understand, as a matter of principle, that it IS the government's duty to solve these problems).
My message of self-reliance is nothing new, in this blog. Go look through my older posts, and take a closer look.
For example:
- I have pointed out that our government is hopeless in providing affordable healthcare, therefore we must pay attention to the alternative of seeking medical treatment in other countries
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/02/healthcare-for-singaporeans-in-malaysia.html
- I have pointed that the government's so-called "generous" Edusave scheme is in fact woefully inadequate for meeting students' CCA expenses (so parents should not expect to be able to rely meaningfully on the Edusave scheme)
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/01/ccas-and-governments-edusave-top-up.htm
- I have warned that our dear leaders in our government are clearly not prepared, as a matter of principle, to make the kind of noble sacrifices that some naive, idealistic Singaporeans might actually believe their leaders ought to make:
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-read-this-question-in-straits-times.html#links
- I have warned that the CPF system is very inadequate for providing for citizens' retirement needs, and therefore they need to rely on themselves:
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/01/partial-myth-of-asset-rich-cash-poor.html
Etc etc
Basically the government is hopeless, so don't count on them.
So, self reliance is going back to a doctor whom u know is not going to cure you but still spending millions on him?
Or, go to a cheap doctor in JB while still paying that doctor millions?
Are Singaporeans so pathetic?!
As any homeowner or civil engineer knows, water and wind are the enemies of structures, whether above ground or below.
The leak will slowly but surely corrode any metal with which it comes into contact, eat away at concrete, and eventually threaten the structural integrity of the MRT station itself.
If the water is near an electrical conduit, it could carry the risk of electric shock to those who step in the puddle on the floor or, worse, plunge the station into darkness if the water corrodes the conduit and the wiring inside it.
So it is in the MRT's and all Singaporeans best interests for the leak to be dealt with expeditiously.
My guess is that there is a dispute between the MRT and the contractors who built the Circle Line as to who is responsible for fixing it. Once that is settled, there is the question of tearing out the ceiling, judging where the leak is coming from (is it groundwater, fresh water, sewer water) and then taking the best path toward fixing it and preventing it from emerging somewhere else in the structure.
In a terrain like Singapore's, which was once fairly marshy, water is apt to appear in the darndest places. One should not expect immediate remedies to what is a complex situation. However, if the leak continues for more than a couple of months, it might be as well for someone to bring it up to their MP or question the MRT as to why it's not being dealt with.
True. Very true. Rust of steel inside concrete is serious.
If leaks are not isolated cases but happening all over, looking into them is not just a matter of patching up, but a more serious study needs to be made.
I hope they do not brush aside such leaks as inconsequential and is the result of 50 year freak storms.
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