10 km road badly damaged

BEKASI (JP): A 10-kilometer road connecting Serang subdistrict and Cibarusah subdistrict near here is badly damaged, completely paralyzing land transportation in the area.

According to several local people, the road has been neglected for about five years which is why it is presently in such a poor condition.

"Five years ago the road was well asphalted using the hotmix method, but now it is dilapidated and full of big potholes. It is practically impassable," one local resident told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He said because of the condition of the road the prices of basic commodities have soared beyond the buying power of the residents of Cibarusah and surrounding districts.

"The road turns into a huge muddy, swampy lake when rain falls," he said.

The people generally blamed the situation on overloaded big trucks carrying tons of sand from a sand quarrying site managed by four companies. "The companies are the most responsible parties for the damaged road," they said.

The people urged the local office of the public works ministry to immediately rectify the situation by improving the condition of the road.(12/bas)