Ciledug residents outraged by high voltage cables<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Eighty people representing 120 residents from
\nthe Ciledug Indah housing estate in Tangerang went to the office
\nof the National Commission on Human Rights yesterday morning to
\ncomplain about the bad effects of high voltage electrical cables
\nsuspended over their housing complex.<\/p>\n
Charles Christofel, spokesman of the residents, told
\ncommission members Brig. Gen (Ret) Roekmini K. Astoeti and Djoko
\nSoegianto that the residents of Ciledug Indah have suffered
\nphysically since the state-owned electricity company (PLN)
\nactivated, on Nov. 25 the high voltage cables.<\/p>\n
\"Whenever we are at home we always have headaches, feel
\nnauseous, have irregular heart beats and itchy skin. A test pen
\nor fluorescent lamp can turn on by itself, without being
\nconnected to an electrical plug, if we point it to the sky,\"
\nCharles said.<\/p>\n
He said the residents have filed many complaints with the
\nrelated governmental offices and legislative bodies but so far
\nthere has been no action taken.<\/p>\n
He said the residents have visited the House of
\nRepresentatives, PLN headquarters, the Tangerang administration,
\nthe ministry of home affairs, the attorney general's office, the
\nvice president's office, the president's office Bina Graha and
\nthe ruling party Golkar's office.<\/p>\n
Charles said the PLN has always stated that residents in the
\nhousing complex located under the high-voltage cables are not in
\ndanger, but that PLN has never checked on the physical reactions
\nthat are happening to the residents.<\/p>\n
\"The strong electromagnetic radiation is even dangerous for
\npregnant women and can make people suffer from anemia,\" Charles
\nsaid, quoting Dr. Moch. Taufik Hidayat, a medical practitioner.<\/p>\n
Charles said that the Ciledug Indah area suffers from floods
\nevery rainy season and this has made the residents concerned that
\nthe electrical current from the high-voltage cables might kill
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Permits<\/p>\n
During the one-hour meeting with the Human Rights commission
\nCharles said the residents have lived in Ciledug Indah since
\n1987, which was when they bought the houses from PT Duta Megah
\nPerdana, a real estate developer, while PLN started the high-
\nvoltage cable tower project in 1990.<\/p>\n
West Java Deputy Governor Aboeng Koesman issued the permit for
\nPT Duta Megah Perdana to build a housing estate on a 20-hectare
\nplot of land in Tangerang, in April 1985. The permit was based on
\nthe March 27, 1985 recommendation of Tangerang Regent Tadjus
\nSobirin.<\/p>\n
\"Our housing location is in line with the Tangerang city plan,
\nbut what confuses us is that two permits, which have opposite
\npurposes, had been issued by the same institution,\" Charles said.<\/p>\n
The present Tangerang Regent H. Saifullah Abdulrachman told
\nKompas daily yesterday that the residents of Ciledug should move
\nto other places, but then another problem arises; \"Who is going
\nto pay for the costs?,\" Charles said.<\/p>\n
Charles told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that a PLN official
\nhas informed them that PLN will not give any compensation to the
\nresidents because the project is for public purposes.<\/p>\n
Assistant of the Tangerang Regent for public administration
\naffairs, H. Ismet Iskandar, who was the former Ciledug District
\nchief when the permit was issued, said that the PLN high-voltage
\ncable towers had already been installed before PT Duta Megah
\nPerdana started its construction of Ciledug Indah.<\/p>\n
The two members of the National Commission on Human Rights,
\nJoko Sugianto and Roekmini K. Astoeti, who listened to the
\nresidents' grievances, succeeded in calming them by saying that
\nthe commission will try to help settle the problem.<\/p>\n
\"You all have firm documentation, such as building permits,
\nwhich are strong enough to help seek a satisfactory settlement,\"
\nJoko said.<\/p>\n
Charles insisted, however, that they will go to the U.S.
\nEmbassy if the human rights commission fails to help them. \"If
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights fails to help us then we
\nto go to the U.S. embassy to complain about the violation of our
\nrights,\" he said, without elaborating further concerning this
\ndecision. (mas)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ciledug-residents-outraged-by-high-voltage-cables-1447893297",
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