40 families live surrounded by trash

BEKASI: At least 40 families living on two hectares of land in Sumur Batu village in Bantar Gebang have been living surrounded by piling trash, Bekasi Mayor Akhmad Zurfaih said on Sunday.

The families insist on living in the area as they refused to sell their land when the Jakarta administration cleared the area for the construction of the dump site. They said the price offered by Jakarta was too low at that time.

"But they did not expect the garbage would be as high as four meters, obstructing the afternoon sunlight," Akhmad said, adding that the residents did not get the morning sun until about 10 a.m.

The mayor called on the Jakarta administration to buy the land, saying the price was not too high.

"The average price is only Rp 50,000 (US$5.5) per square meter," he said. -- Antara