THE water levels at Bukit Merah Lake have considerably increased as a result of the continuous rainfall over the past few days.

Utusan Malaysia reported that the exposed cracked lake bottom due to the lack of water is now submerged at the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort.

At the same time, the previously barren regions surrounding the fishermen’s jetty in Kampung Selamat are now flooded, despite the fact that they were previously dry in the area of 1,500 metres towards the middle of the lake.

The Daily reported that the lake’s water level has risen from 19.85 feet last week to 21.10 feet as of today.

Furthermore, cloud seeding operations were implemented in the vicinity of Bukit Merah from July 29 to July 31 as a result of the drought.

Since June 26, the Kerian Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) has suspended the irrigation supply to paddy cultivators due to the lake’s critical low level, which had persisted for more than a month.

The cessation of irrigation in the Bagan Serai area had an estimated impact of nearly RM7.5 million on 2,162 farmers, culminating in the loss of nearly 5,000 hectares of paddy fields.

Kerian’s Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA) responded by deploying a variety of water pumps of varying sizes to extract water from nearby canals. The objective was to assist farmers whose fields had dried up, thereby preserving their harvests.

Additionally, a resort situated on the lake was ordered to suspend all recreational activities that involved the lake until the water levels were completely restored. — TMR