Ceplak-Kronjo road repair begins

TANGERANG: In response to protests by angry residents who blocked a main road that connects three districts in Tangerang regency last week, the regency administration appointed a new contractor to continue the temporarily halted road repair project.

Chief of the regency's main highway construction and irrigation agency Maryoso said on Monday that newly appointed contractor PT Benteng Bangunan Sejahtera would begin repairing the 12-kilometer artery connecting Balaraja, Kresek and Kronjo districts next week.

He said the administration had provided a Rp 10 billion in funds to finance the road repairs, which would be completed within three months.

Thousands of residents from the three districts blocked the main road last month to demand the administration repair the damaged artery. The road was blocked from Ceplak market in Balaraja to Kronjo district, preventing all vehicles, except motorcycles, from passing.

Residents living along the road became angry and blocked the road in protest because many of them, especially children, had suffered from respiratory problems due to dust, kicked up every time cars went past.--JP