Installation of high voltage cables delayed<\/p>\n
BOGOR, West Java (JP): The completion of high voltage cables
\nin four villages was delayed yesterday, as residents persuaded
\ntechnicians and security officers to wait for the settlement of
\ncompensation claims.<\/p>\n
And residents said they were unsure whether the project to
\ninstall 500-kilovolt cables would continue today.<\/p>\n
Technicians finished installing only two of seven lengths of
\ncable Saturday.<\/p>\n
Yesterday some 120 military officers of the Gaining Bat unit
\npatrolled villages to guard technicians from PLN, the state-owned
\nelectricity company which owns the project.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the morning 15 officers carrying steel shields and
\nrattan sticks, marched to the paddy fields around Cibentang and
\nCiseeng villages, the site of the giant electric pylons.<\/p>\n
Nipan, 52, a villager from Cibentang, represented others in
\nnegotiating with security officers.<\/p>\n
To convince officers he had met the police chief to settle the
\nproblem, Nipan showed them the business card of Bogor Police
\nChief Lt. Col. Ruslan Riza.<\/p>\n
Nipan said he alone had lost more than 30 durian trees to make
\nway for the cables.<\/p>\n
Families affected by the project want adequate compensation
\nfor their property before moving from the project site. However
\nPLN has only agreed to compensate their fruit trees.<\/p>\n
Residents say it is the threat of radiation, not the project
\nitself they are resisting.<\/p>\n
More than 100 families in one village live on the 91,800
\nsquare meters of land which PT PLN is appropriating for the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
Around 10 villagers from Cibentang and Ciseeng remained on
\nguard throughout Sunday night, fearful of technicians mounting
\nthe cables at night.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago residents decided to conduct daily night watches
\nof the 20-meter-high pylons.<\/p>\n
PLN's electricians attempted to climb one of the pylons at 2
\na.m. yesterday, Abdul Madjid, 40, one of the Ciseeng residents,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"They disguised themselves in military costumes but we were
\nable to persuade them not to install the cables,\" he added.<\/p>\n
\"But at 6 a.m. we saw two electricians had already mounted a
\npylon,\" Madjid said.<\/p>\n
Madjid said technicians tried to sneak into their plots at
\nnight, but villagers were alerted by bamboo alarms.<\/p>\n
On Saturday around 3,000 villagers from Cibentang, Ciseeng,
\nCihohe and Kuripan staged a protest at the heavily-guarded
\ninstallation, causing a traffic jam.<\/p>\n
The villagers' cause is backed by several student
\norganizations, including students from the National Institute of
\nScience and Technology (ISTN), the Jakarta Teachers Training
\nInstitute (IKIP Jakarta) and the Indonesian Moslem Student Union
\n(PMII).<\/p>\n
Last month, several residents were beaten in a clash with
\npolice which residents said was more violent than three previous
\nencounters with the authorities. (07)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/installation-of-high-voltage-cables-delayed-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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