The Famous 'Ban'

Today when I sent my daughter to her friend's house in Ban 3, I couldn't resist taking these photos showing some progress being done to alleviate flooding during the rainy season. It must have been a long wait for those who live here to see something finally is being done.

Ban 3 is famous for always in the spotlight of being a ghastly flooded hotspot in Brunei. But not many people know that this area used to be one of the biggest paddy plantation area in the country - until it got converted into a large stretch of residential area. In the old days in the 70's, when yours truly lived nearby this place and spent a good part of the day playing in the paddy field, this area used to be routinely flooded by diverting water from the nearby river. An artificial dam was built on the river to divert water into a well maintained irrigation system.

The irony is in the name of progress, this fertile stretch of land was sacrificed and converted to residential areas. Now we know why Brunei only has a small fraction of its rice supplied locally. Obviously the constant flooding has been trying to tell us something all these years.