News

Unsightly Algae on Woodland Suddenly Cleared After Online Hoo-Ha

2018-11-29 , 2:59 pm

If you’ve ever tried emailing your town council, you would probably know this:

More often than not, there’s no difference whatsoever.

Indeed, what’s the point in sending email after email to the folks over at the organisational department, when all you’re gonna get is NATO:

No action talk only?

With that in mind, I can’t help but wonder: why not rant about it online instead? After all, it never hurts to try. And who knows; you might just get things done, and even ‘accidentally’ start an entire ‘cleaning’ movement…

Like this guy.

Meet the Avocado

Just last Saturday (24 Nov), a Reddit user with the username u/random_avocado posted a picture of the algae-infested flooring under his HDB block in Woodlands.

The photo, which isn’t exactly something you will use as an appetiser, comes after claims that the algae growth has been around for months, since the repaving of the concrete flooring.

But apart from being rather ‘unsightly’, it seems that algae growth represents another hazard that’s not just to the eyes:

It could potentially cause people to fall too, due to its smooth texture.

And so, after advice from fellow Redditors, u/random_avocado sent an inquiry through the OneService portal, a platform that allows people to report stuff like this to agencies.

Which led to perhaps the greatest miracle of the century.

The Straits Times steps in

Unless you’ve been living under a cave, you would know what the Straits Times is. Having published numerous articles since the beginning of time, it’s part of what I like to dub the Elite Four Newspapers of Singapore, with The New Paper, Lianhe Zaobao and TODAY taking up the other spots.

Yet as it is, it seems that the Straits Times isn’t just your local version of the Daily Bugle, as it was arguably the very reason the aforementioned miracle could take place.

Following u/random_avocado‘s complaint, the newspaper ran an article on it, in the processing posing a number of queries to the council in charge.

And it all changed

After being questioned, a spokesperson for the Sembawang Town Council stepped forth and stated that the algae infestation was actually caused by ‘poor workmanship’ from the repaving of the concrete floor.

Having transpired between the periods of Oct 2017 and Apr 2018, the contractor who was in charge has agreed to correct the situation.

And lo and behold… the very next day, u/random_avocado posted yet another thread. But this time…

It was good news.

Having entered the fray with pressurised water hoses in tow, the workers seemed intent on repairing the damage caused.

And it evidently worked.

Movement

If you recall, I stated that the aforementioned Redditor started, albeit possibly inadvertently, a movement.

And indeed, he did.

Following the positive news, another Redditor user kept the ball rolling, with his thread preaching about the algae infestation in the sidewalks along Tampines.

Although one can only hope that like the earlier incident…

This one will be corrected soon too.

A New Revolution?

Considering how this incident developed, one can’t help but wonder:

Is online publicity the key to getting things done?

Indeed, as this user so aptly puts it:

It might be time to rethink the way the world works.

By the way, the cai png stall here gives me five pieces of sweet and sour pork instead of seven pieces. I’m going to escalate it online tomorrow if they still give me five pieces tomorrow.