State-owned Perhutani blamed for Garut tragedy<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung, West Java<\/p>\n
West Java Governor R. Nuriana is to ask state-owned forestry
\ncompany Perhutani to take responsibility for the environmental
\ndegradation on Mount Mandalawangi in Garut, West Java, which he
\nsaid caused the landslides on Wednesday that claimed at least 22
\nlives.<\/p>\n
He said he had delivered a letter on Thursday to the chief of
\nPerhutani Unit III managing forests in the province to demand
\naccountability for the condition of the forested mountain areas.<\/p>\n
"We will ask Perhutani why it has done nothing to reforest the
\nbarren areas," he said.<\/p>\n
Asked what actions would be taken against the state company,
\nNuriana said he would not act until the company's management gave
\nan objective explanation about the incident.<\/p>\n
"I want to hear the company's explanation before determining
\nwhat actions we will take against the company," he said after
\nmeeting with Garut regent Dede Satibi here on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The landslides occurred as residents were sleeping early on
\nThursday after incessant rain, causing rocks and mud to sweep
\nthrough hundreds of houses in two villages in Kadungora district,
\nGarut regency.<\/p>\n
Four more bodies were recovered on Thursday, bringing the
\ndeath toll to 22. All the bodies were buried on Wednesday and
\nThursday. The search will continue on Friday for dozens of others
\nwho are believed to be buried in the mud and debris.<\/p>\n
Priangan Police chief Sr. Comr. Tjetjep Lukman said it was
\ndifficult to bring in excavators for the search and rescue
\noperation, because the villages were located in an elevated area.<\/p>\n
Local district official, Widianingsih, said the landslide was
\ncaused by unusually heavy rain in the area but that deforestation
\ncould have been a factor.<\/p>\n
"The area is not really deforested, but it is true that
\nresidents have resorted to cutting down trees because it is
\ndifficult to find jobs nowadays," she said.
\nResidents of Mount Mandalawangi admitted that they have long
\nfeared that their villages would be hit by landslides as a result
\nof deforestation.<\/p>\n
Rachmat Sudjana, secretary of the Garut district
\nadministration, claimed that authorities had already warned the
\nvillagers of possible landslides.<\/p>\n
The residents, however, refused to leave the area because they
\nhave been living there for a long time, he added.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the West Java provincial legislature attacked
\nPerhutani for its inability to manage the environment in the
\nregency leading to the landslides that occurred on Wednesday
\nnight.<\/p>\n
A staff member of Perhutani in Garut who requested anonymity
\nrefused to be blamed for the tragedy, saying the local people
\nshould be blamed for it.<\/p>\n
He said his office had warned the locals many times against
\ncutting down trees on the mountain because it was quite prone to
\nflooding and landslides.<\/p>\n
"But the local people defied the warning and even, with the
\nbacking of local officials, villagers have started to farm on the
\nmountain's slopes," he said.<\/p>",
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