Balirejo Residents in Jogja Complain as Stalled Road Repairs Block Vehicle Access
A social media post detailing the grievances of residents of Kampung Balirejo, Muja Muju, Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta, regarding an unfinished road repair has circulated online, highlighting the impact on local accessibility. The post, shared by the Instagram account @merapi_uncover, included photos of the current road conditions and stated that the repairs were a consequence of the construction of a rusunawa located directly beside the road. The caption noted that while the road was dismantled on 3 June 2026 for a planned 150-metre repair, only 33 metres had been completed by 20 June 2026, with work grinding to a halt the previous week. The post appealed to the Yogyakarta city government for intervention, stating that the unfinished state of the road has prevented residents from using their vehicles, with some cars stranded outside homes for almost three weeks, severely disrupting mobility.
An on-site observation confirmed that a roughly 20-metre stretch of the village road remains under repair, with paving blocks stacked at the roadside and the surface reduced to sand, making it extremely difficult for vehicles to pass. A low-hanging blue tarpaulin also stretches across the road. Beni Budiyo, the head of the local neighbourhood unit (RT 53 RW 06), confirmed the work has been stalled for three weeks due to a delay in material delivery. He explained that the Public Works, Housing and Settlement Planning Agency (Dinas PUPKP) was waiting in a queue for the paving blocks to be manufactured. A further complication arose when a batch of new hexagonal paving blocks was delivered on Saturday but had to be rejected because they did not match the existing rectangular blocks, which would have created an inconsistency in the road surface.
Beni stated that the agreement with the relevant agency was for a total road repair in front of the rusunawa, with the 30-metre section to the north only requiring the old paving to be rearranged. He has informed residents that the correct materials are expected to arrive on Monday or Tuesday and appealed for their patience, acknowledging that while motorcycles could technically pass, it risked disturbing the unsecured paving work. He stressed that the project could be completed within a week once the materials are available.