900 families seek compensation

SEMARANG: Nine hundred families living near Banger River are demanding that the city administration improve on its offer of compensation for land which is being acquired to make way for the dredging of the river.

The residents are asking for cash compensation of between Rp 40,000 and Rp 50,000 per square meter of land, while the government is only offering them resettlement at a low-cost housing complex in Karangroto subdistrict.

The residents said the proposed housing area is located too far from the city's center.

The government is planning to dredge Banger River at a cost of Rp 3.5 billion to prevent the floods, which inundate the city during the rainy season. About 63,000 square meters of land must be acquired for the project. (har/sim)