Locals block road to power project<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
Hundreds of villagers in East Lampung blocked off a section of
\nthe Sumatra East Coast Highway that is under repair in protest of
\na company they accuse of failing to honor its promise to provide
\nelectricity for their villages.<\/p>\n
PT AK, one of several companies involved in the Rp 550 billion
\n(US$60 million) road repair project, reportedly promised to bring
\nelectricity to the villages of Purworejo and Gunungtiga in
\nBatanghari Nuban subdistrict in compensation for the company's
\nuse of land in the villages.<\/p>\n
Purworejo village head Misdi said villagers would continue to
\nblock the road to prevent the company from completing the project
\nuntil it honored its promise.<\/p>\n
\"More than 100 trucks carrying stones have been unable to make
\ndeliveries for four days because of the road blockage, and
\nvillagers will likely take the law into their own hands if the
\ntrucks try to force their way through,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rahman, a 27-year-old resident of Gunungtiga village, said
\nvillagers were also threatening to occupy the company's office
\nnear the village to demonstrate their seriousness.<\/p>\n
\"Our demand is very simple: connecting our village with power
\nfrom PLN,\" he said, referring to the state-owned electricity
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
Last week, hundreds of villagers blocked off another section
\nof the highway in Purbolinggo subdistrict, demanding the local
\nadministration and developer PT Sangyong, which is also involved
\nin the road project, compensate them for land being used for the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
The situation in the two villages has been tense since
\nvillagers threatened to take action unless the companies honored
\ntheir demands.<\/p>\n
A staff member at one of the companies said his company had
\nsuffered huge losses because it has had to suspend its operation
\nfor the last three days.<\/p>\n
The staff member said the company had to continue to pay its
\nworkers despite the shutdown, and the completion of the project
\nwould be delayed as a result of the standoff.<\/p>\n
According to a written agreement with the villagers, PT AK
\nappointed CV Sinar Abadi to build a Rp 80 million power network
\nto connect the two villages to PLN soon after it won the project
\nbid several months ago.<\/p>\n
Subar Pribadi, an employee of PLN, said his office had
\nreceived no request from PT AK to provide electricity to the two
\nvillages, and that PLN had no plans to do so in the near future
\nbecause of budget constraints.<\/p>\n
He said if CV Sinar Abadi was appointed to build a power
\nnetwork, it would need a permit from PLN \"and we will make sure
\nthat all of the cables and poles used in the network meet PLN's
\nstandards\".<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/locals-block-road-to-power-project-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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