300 families in Gowa lose their livelihood

300 families in Gowa lose their livelihood

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

Some 300 families of farmers and fishermen in Parangloe district
in Gowa regency are fast losing their main source of income as
most of their paddy fields and Je'neberang river where they used
to fish are filled with mud.

With the heavy rain that started in December, the situation is
getting worse for local residents as mud from Mount Bawakaraeng,
where a landslide took place in March last year, is being flushed
down by heavy rain.

Residents in three villages -- Lunjuk Boko, Bori Sallang,
Bonto Parang -- as well as those in Lanna subdistrict, all in
Parangloe, are virtually unable to work.

According to the head of Parangloe district, Marsuki, at least
40 keramba, a basket put into a stream for raising fish, were
damaged and could not be used.

A keramba usually comprises of six to eight sections, with
each producing around 70 kilograms of freshwater fish every
harvest time. The fish is then sold at Rp 12,000 per kilogram.

Now, around 470 hectares of paddy field in Parangloe is
covered by a 50 centimeter-thick layer of mud, making planting or
harvesting impossible.

"Anytime rain falls, mud from the mountain flushes down into
the river," Marsuki said.

Local residents expressed hope that the local government would
relocate them to safer areas, allowing them to get back to work.

Marsuki said the residents in his district wanted to relocate
to Bella Pungranga village in Tinggi Moncong area which has
similar geographical conditions as the three affected villages
and the subdistrict.

The local administration had tried to dredge the river, but
since the muds was simply moved to the riverbank, when the rain
fell, the mud was flushed back into the river.

The muds have also caused high sedimentation in Bili-Bili dam,
the main source of untreated water for Somba Apu water purifying
plant that provides clean water for residents in the southern
part of Makassar.

The dam stopped operation for a week in mid January due to the
high level of mud in the water, which was at 41,800 nephelometric
turbidity unit (NTU). Previously, the level stood at below 50
NTU.

Head of Bili-bili water resources management and development
project, Mansyie Nahumuri, acknowledged the dam's high
sedimentation level was the result of the landslide in Mount
Bawakaraeng.

He said that the situation disrupted clean water production as
well as the irrigation of 24,000 hectares of paddy fields that
relied on the dam.

But he played down people's concerns that the high
sedimentation level would damage the dam. He said the dam could
handle 24 million cubic meters of sedimentation, adding that the
latest sedimentation survey in August showed that the
sedimentation stood at four million cubic meters.

"Currently, Bili-bili dam is not in a dangerous condition," he
said, saying that maximum water level is 99.5 meters while at
present, it is 92 meters.

"If the water level is over the limit, we'll release it a bit
to bring it back to normal," Mansyie said.

He said that in normal conditions, the dam would be safe for
the next 50 years, but in the present condition, it might only
last for between 10 and 20 years.