State agriculture, agro-based, entrepreneur development and cooperative committee chairman Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee said sandblasting works at the site had led to contamination of the river, which is a source of livelihood for local fishermen.
"The authorities including the state Fisheries Department had conducted a surprise check recently and found the operator had failed to adhere to the standard operating procedure," he said in an interview on Sunday . Norhizam said the temporary stop-work order was issued to the company conducting the activity at Teluk Berembang site along the riverbank."There were also reports on dwindling fish population due to the sand dredging works," he said.
Norhizam said preliminary findings showed that oxygen levels had been badly affected due to the sand dredging activities."Unchecked sand dredging can also lead to coastal and riverbank erosion," he added.