Newspaper T204_TheSpotlight

Should stray dogs be gotten rid of ?

SPECIAL

Fire broke out in Woodlands

Page 7

Pages 4-5

Page 6

APRIL-AUGUST 2017 The SPOTLIGHT

Many stories , one nation , one spotlight

Sengkang West Residents gets

new bus service

New bus service 374 aims to increase comfort and convenience for Sengkang West residents .

BY NEO SHI JIE

Introduced to residents in Sengkang West four months ago , bus service 374 has received mixed reactions due to its bus routes .

Service 374 is a new feeder service that serves mainly the residents in the new Fernvale and Anchorvale estates . This service is part of the Bus Service Enhancement Programme ( BSEP ).

It is a service operating from Compassvale and looping at Fernvale Road , passing through Anchorvale Crescent , Anchorvale Road and Fernvale Street , connecting Sengkang West residents with the Sengkang Town Centre , Bus Interchange and MRT & LRT Station .

Launched in March this year , 374 is the first and only bus service in operation in the newly opened Compassvale bus interchange .

“ This new bus service is very well received by many residents ,” Dr Lam Pin Min , the Grassroot Advisor of Sengkang West GROs , said in an email interview .

Suriaty Binte Jumahat , a passenger and resident in Sengkang West , said that this new bus service has helped in her daily commute . She said , “ Initially there is only one bus 102 that actually ends at Hougang

Twist and turns in making Singapore ’ s longest banner

11 artists came together to bring about a colourful display of Singapore ’ s vanishing traits .

BY TINA TING

11 artists not only added colour but used the entire length of a paper to create a record breaking banner of 14.2m long .

At the Faber Castell ’ s Art Festival at Marina Square on May 27 , 11 artists sketched a banner that was supposed to be 10m long , with the intention of breaking the Singapore record of the longest banner with human sketches . central ” which was not convenient for her since she lives in Sengkang . Hence , with the addition of bus 374 , she can travel around the Sengkang estates conveniently .

Boyina Gieja Devi , a new resident , also expressed her satisfaction with the addition of this bus service . She said that it was “ very helpful ” as the service covers new routes such as the upcoming Sengkang General Hospital , executive condominiums , as well as the new executive condominium at Anchorvale Crescent , Bellewaters , where she resides in .

Most residents in Sengkang West are aware of this new bus service . However , not many actually board it as they felt that it was not helpful in their daily commute .

Tan Xuan Wen , 17 , a student and resident in Sengkang West , does not find the new bus service helpful . She felt that the bus service could serve the residents in Sengkang West better , especially Anchorvale and Fernvale as she felt that these areas mentioned have limited bus services available , especially the limited routes covered by these bus services in Sengkang West .

Furthermore , the lack of services in her estates has brought about inconvenience to her daily commute . She hoped that there could be more bus services as well as an increase in frequency as the few bus services

All 11 artists are glad and relieved that they have completed the record-breaking banner together as one . Photo : Tina Ting .

Instead , it ended up becoming 14.2m long .

The art piece , centered around occupations in the past , took about 4.5 hours to complete , with the artists starting at 12:30pm till 5pm in the evening .

The banner featured sketchews of Samsui ( women who took up construction jobs around the 1920s and 1940s ) women , Getai ( live stage performances usually held during the ghost festival ) singers and street vendors after gaining inspiration from

Only one person is seen queuing for bus service 374 on a Saturday afternoon . Photo : Neo Shi Jie .

pictures taken from the 1920s to 1980s .

Urban sketcher Mr Francis Theo said that initially , the sketch was only meant to be in black and white with a total length of 10m . However , the artists soon agreed that they had more than enough time to add colour to the sketch and thus did not stop there . They wanted to challenge themselves . The artists also decided to use the entire length of the paper , thereby ending up with a 14.2m long banner .

Despite the many challenges they faced , such as the sudden change of art mediums to the scale of the drawings , they were still able to complete the artwork in a short period of time , which many of the participants enjoyed during the event .

One of the participants , Casey Mclean said , “ I think it ’ s a really cool idea . I think it is nice that it sort of brings some sort of interactivity to the display rather than it being pre-done pieces , and it ’ s done by different people with different styles of artworks .”

Another participant , Ms Jacqueline

at the Anchorvale and Fernvale area are “ often packed with people ”.

Residents living in her area were not benefitted by this service either as the new routes , which includes key amenities in Sengkang such as the Sengkang Sports Complex , Riverside Park as well as the residential areas are not covered by the existing bus services .

In response to this , Dr Lam said , “ As in all bus services , not every resident will be direct beneficiary of the service .” He added that the residents who are staying along the route of the new service will definitely benefit more than others .

Dr Lam also said that they are “ constantly working with LTA to enhance the bus connectivity in Sengkang West ”.

Although this service is introduced to cater to the needs of residents , few can be seen taking the bus service , even on weekends . Empty bus stops can be seen along the route of service 374 on a Saturday afternoon .

Tee Kock Hwa , a bus driver of 374 , said that it is normal since this bus service is new and the bus route only started in March this year . He added that as more developments come in , passengers will increase .

Phang said , “ It ’ s really interesting and the fact that we broke the record today , it ’ s really encouraging as well .”

A representative from the Singapore book of records verified that it is indeed the longest banner of human figure sketches .

The artists even added their own personal touch to the event by drawing miniature versions of themselves on the poster . Mr Theo said that the artists generally wanted things to be more light-hearted and fun by adding some whimsical elements , which tied in with what the Director of Faber Castell Singapore , Mr Yandramin Halim said , “ The purpose of this event is to bring art closer to people .”

Ms Wendy Phang thought that it was really cool and her daughter finds it very fascinating as well as she has never been exposed to these forms of art .

The Faber Castell Art Festival will take place from May 27 to Jun 4 from 11am to 9pm at Marina Square .