137 bodies recovered in dump evacuation

137 bodies recovered in dump evacuation

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Evacuation of landslide victims at the Leuwigajah dump site in
south Cimahi and Bandung regency ended on Monday, with 137 bodies
being recovered and six more being left buried in the 25-hectare
area affected by the disaster.

The search and rescue operation ended after 15 days, with the
agreement of Bandung Regent Obar Sobarna, local administrations,
the National Search and Rescue (SAR) body, relatives of the
victims and the Indonesian Ulema Council.

"All parties have agreed to stop the operation because it's
gone beyond tolerable psychological limits of the search and
rescue team, and also because more than 75 percent of the victims
have been recovered," Bandung-Cimahi district military chief, Lt.
Col. Achmad Syaefudin, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Four volunteers reportedly fainted recently, allegedly from
the effects of methane gas, while working to recover bodies from
the mountains of garbage that collapsed on Feb. 21 flattening 70
houses in two villages.

Bandung Regent Obar Sobarna said the regental administration
was still trying to find a place to relocate around 180 families
living in the disaster area.

But he declined to provide details on the amount of money set
aside for the relocation plan. "Some residents have asked for
compensation and want to move to places of their own choice, so
we'll have to do the calculations first," he said.

Cimahi Major Itoch Tochya said his administration has set
aside Rp 50 billion (US$5.3 million) to relocate residents
wanting to move from the dump site area.

"Only two families living in our part of the dump site
(Cimahi) were victims," Itoch said. "If their neighbors want to
be relocated, we'll prepare the money."

Meanwhile, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan has signed an MOU
with a Malaysian investor to integrate the waste management
systems of five regencies and municipalities in Bandung.

Called the Greater Bandung Waste Management Project, the dump
will manage garbage from the Bandung regency and municipality,
Cimahi mayoralty, Sumedang regency and Garut regency using
sanitary landfill systems and sophisticated technology.

Two locations -- Cijeruk and Cirawamekar in Bandung regency --
have been determined as candidate locations for the integrated
dump site.

"The investor will build the integrated dump site by 2006,"
Danny said on Monday.