16/102005 (The Star) - SANDAKAN: After years of waiting in vain forauthorities to act, villagers at Kampung Segaliud took matters into theirown hands to show how pollution by two palm oil mills was destroying theirriver.

On Friday, they brought Department of Environment (DOE) personnel, Sekongstate assemblyman Samsuddin Yahya and other officials to see how effluentsfrom the mills were being discharged into a stream and eventually flowedinto the Sungai Segaliud.

The villagers hope action would be taken against the palm oil mills afterthe DOE officers took effluent samples from both factories.

Samsuddin said it was obvious that the mills were discharging effluentsinto the environment although both had treatment ponds.

"The amount of fish and prawns caught in the river have declined over theyears and the villagers are scared of using the river water to do theirlaundry."