190 residents demand dam repair

190 residents demand dam repair

TANGERANG: Some 190 family heads in Tanjung Anom village, Mauk
district, Tangerang regency, have demanded the maritime and
fisheries agency repair an 800-meter dam along the coast near
where they live as it not in conformity with the original
proposal.

Village chief M. Ali told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the
dam had originally been planned to be constructed to a length of
1,500 meters and a height of 8 meters, using large mountain
boulders.

"But now the dam has only been built 800 meters long and 2
meters high using small river stones. The dam shakes every time
waves hit it," he said. "I'm afraid the dam cannot prevent
serious erosion from affecting the village."

Meanwhile village representative Mahfudin said that it was
pointless for the regency administration to construct the dam
using small river stones instead of large mountain boulders,
which were much more expensive.

"If the regency uses only small river stones, it's a waste of
money for it to spend up to Rp 2.5 billion on constructing the
dam," he said. "If it's only like that, we residents could build
it ourselves."

Mauk district secretary Purnama Wijaya said that the
dam had worsened erosion along the village beach
instead of preventing it. --JP