Let’s talk, SLA tells farmers
By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 14 Mar 2012.
The group of residents who have been farming on a patch of state land in Clementi Avenue 4 may now get a little breathing room.
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which last week issued an eviction notice on the illegal vegetable garden, is now asking these farmers to come forward to discuss the issue.
If they fail to do this by March 20, their vegetable patches, the sheds and other structures there will be cleared.
An SLA spokesman said it has no choice but to do this, because public health and safety issues – from mosquitoes and air pollution from the burning of leaves on the site – have been raised.
So far, three families have identified themselves.
Meanwhile, Ms Sim Ann, the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Member of Parliament overseeing the area, has offered to mediate.
Source: The Straits Times
Residents told to clear out “farm” on state land
By Olivia Siong, Channel NewsAsia, 13 Mar 2012.
The authorities are hoping to engage those who have been illegally using a plot of state land at Clementi Avenue 4.
Residents have been farming at the 1,800 square metre site for almost 30 years, but they are now being ordered by the Singapore Land Authority to move out by March 20.
And for residents like Lester Yeong, they are hoping that a compromise can be reached between the authorities and residents.
Mr Yeong and his family have been farming in the area for about two years. They spend about two to three hours daily at the plot and have planted about 20 species of fruits and vegetables there.
Source: Channel NewsAsia
Group told to clear out ‘farm’ on state land
By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2012.
For three decades, a group of Clementi residents have tended to a garden in their neighbourhood, coaxing harvests of bittergourd, sweet potato and jackfruit from the soil, mostly for their own dinner tables.
But their ‘farm’ sits on state land.
On Tuesday, they were told by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to clear out by March 20 – in two weeks.
The plot in question is bounded by a portion of the former Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway line, the Sungei Ulu Pandan canal, Clementi Avenue 4 and Clementi Avenue 6.
A notice from the SLA has been posted on the door of the outhouse on the farm, announcing that these ‘farmers’ had trespassed on state land by erecting an illegal structure and cultivating crops illegally.
Source: The Straits Times via Wildsingapore
Part of Jurong Line in master plan
By Esther Ng, Today, 3 Sep 2011.
It might not be as well known as the main line but a 2.5km stretch of the old Jurong Line – which passes through the steel bridge over Ulu Pandan Canal – will be included in the conceptual master planning of the rail corridor, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has told Today.
The URA explained that parts of the Jurong Line have been committed to, or are undergoing development work. For instance, the installation of new roads at the International Business Park and the Faber residential estate will improve traffic and “facilitate future developments”, said a URA spokesperson.
“The former Jurong Line is not part of the main line from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands and has been abandoned for many years. In some places, the rail line has been turfed over or is in a severe state of disrepair,” the spokesperson added.
Source: Today
The Green Corridor walk along the old Jurong Line [18 Sep]
Time: Sunday, September 18, 8:30am – 11:30am.
Location: Teban Gardens to Sunset Way.
The Jurong Line, completed in 1965, served as an extension into the then newly constructed Jurong Industrial Estate. It failed to generate adequate traffic and was closed in the early 1990s. It has since been partially dismantled.
Join us for this walk and explore natural reforestation, spontaneous gardens and small scale farming, and walk in a dark underpass. Mr Wong Kum Seng from the Nature Society (Singapore) will lead this walk. Be prepared to get your shoes wet and muddy. This walk is not suitable for small kids.
Meeting time: 8.30am
Meeting point: Blk 41 Teban Gardens Road, behind bus stop (see map at http://gothere.sg/maps#q:Blk%2041%20Teban%20Gardens%20Road). Take bus 79 or 143 at Jurong East Interchange and alight at Blk 41 Teban Gardens Road.
Register through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=257263937626894.
If you’re not a Facebook user, just indicate your interest in the comments section below, and turn up on that day.
Track and fields
By Teh Jen Lee, The New Paper, 16 Aug 2011.
Looking at these pictures, you might be wondering: “I thought the Tanjong Pagar railway track is already closed to the public?”
Well, this is the lesser-known Jurong Line, which was completed in 1965.
Back then, the railway track served as an extension into the newly-constructed Jurong Industrial Estate.
But due to inadequate traffic, it has been abandoned since the late 1980s.
The partially-dismantled track emerges from the Clementi Woodlands at Sunset Way, crossing the Ulu Pandan Canal via the much-photographed cast iron bridge.
The New Paper on Sunday explored the area with Mr Leong Kwok Peng, vice-president of Nature Society Singapore (NSS) and acting chairman of the NSS conservation committee.
Source: The New Paper via Wildsingapore
The Green Corridor walk along the old Jurong Line [18 Jun]
Saturday, June 18, 8am – 11am, Teban Gardens to Sunset Way.
The Jurong Line, completed in 1965, served as an extension into the then newly constructed Jurong Industrial Estate. It failed to generate adequate traffic and was closed in the early 1990s. It has since been partially dismantled.
Join us for this walk and explore natural reforestation, spontaneous gardens and small scale farming, walk in a dark underpass, and cross Sungei Ulu Pandan via a majestic cast iron bridge. Be prepared to get your shoes wet and muddy. This walk is not suitable for small kids.
Meeting time: 8am
Meeting point: Blk 41 Teban Gardens Road (see map at http://gothere.sg/maps#q:Blk%2041%20Teban%20Gardens%20Road). Take bus 79 or 143 at Jurong East Interchange and alight at Blk 41 Teban Gardens Road.
Register through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212999065406088.
If you’re not a Facebook user, just indicate your interest in the comments section below, and turn up on that day.
The Green Corridor walk along the old Jurong Line [12 Jun]
Sunday, June 12, 8am – 11am, Teban Gardens to Sunset Way.
The Jurong Line, completed in 1965, served as an extension into the then newly constructed Jurong Industrial Estate. It failed to generate adequate traffic and was closed in the early 1990s. It has since been partially dismantled.
Join us for this walk and explore natural reforestation, spontaneous gardens and small scale farming, walk in a dark underpass, and cross the Ulu Pandan Canal via a majestic cast iron bridge. Mr Tan Teck Chye from the Nature Society (Singapore) will lead this walk. Be prepared to get your shoes wet and muddy. This walk is not suitable for small kids.
Meeting time: 8am
Meeting point: Blk 10 Teban Gardens Road (see map at http://gothere.sg/maps#q:10%20teban%20garden%20road). Take bus 79 or 143 at Jurong East Interchange and alight at Teban Garden Post Office.
Register through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171778506217411.
If you’re not a Facebook user, just indicate your interest in the comments section below, and turn up on that day.
Jurong Line: Wildlife and Old Times in the Forest
By Daphne, 11 Apr 2011.
The Jurong Line leading from Sunset Way to King Albert Park, compared to the walk from Teban Gardens to the Faber Hills Estate, is a relatively easy trek as the terrain is flat for most part of it, and the vegetation though dense at certain areas, is easy to navigate. There are occasional fallen trees and branches that one has to be careful of, and extremely muddy areas that one has to cross.
Other than that, however, the walk is an enjoyable one, and also an opportunity to revel in the beauty of the forest and its inhabitants, an experience most people living in Singapore will rarely get exposure to. Most importantly, this section of the Jurong Line reveals little parts of the railway track that have fallen to abandonment – the old signal lights and electrical boxes, items that once controlled the very trains that passed through the area, but now left decrepit, rotting, and useless. Read more
Jurong Line: Digging Up A Bit of My Childhood
By Daphne, 22 Feb 2011.
It’s 5pm in the evening and I’m standing by the window watching the sky turn an incandescent red. It’s my favourite time of the day to simply soak in the beautiful sights of the sun as it sets over the horizon.
From a distance, I hear a whirr that gets louder and louder as it approaches – it is the cargo train that passes by behind my house twice a day, every day. There is something most therapeutic about watching the train as it whizzes by, just like on any other day.
This was about 20 years ago.
Section of Railway track the author is referring to | Photo credit: Reclaimland.sg
Sometime in the 1990s, the actual date of which I’m not very clear of, the trains stopped running. The train tracks were left abandoned, unused, forgotten by most people, save for the ones who have once seen and heard those trains chugging down the tracks. And now, in 2011, trees have grown directly on the train tracks, up to 3 metres high, obscuring most parts of the metal rails that still line the grassland. These train tracks, lie there, forever only part of a memory; my memory. Read more
