Cibogo residents angry over high-voltage tower

Cibogo residents angry over high-voltage tower

TANGERANG (JP): Scores of Cibogo villagers from Kelapa Dua,
Curug, Tangerang, on Friday gathered at the construction site of
a high-voltage tower being erected near their village and
demanded state-owned electricity company PLN move the tower to
another location.

According to the villagers, they have sent several letters and
met with PLN executives to make known their objections to the
construction of the 150,000-volt tower.

The residents oppose the tower because the high-voltage
cables, which will be connected to nearby towers, could endanger
their lives and their livestock.

From information gleaned from similar situations reported by
the media, the villagers are worried the cables would not only
damage their electronic equipment but also cause various ailments
to people leaving beneath the cables, including fatigue, lose of
appetite and a lowered heart rate.

"PLN doesn't care about the fear this project is causing us.
PLN doesn't care about anything unless they can profit from it,"
one of the villagers, Budi, said at the construction site.

The tower, being built on a plot of land owned by PLN, is one
of several towers constructed around the area. Together, these
towers will form a network for the installation of high-voltage
cables which will stretch from the Lippo Karawaci housing and
business complex in the south to the Gading Serpong housing and
business complex in the northeast.

The electricity will be supplied by the Suralaya power station
in West Java.

According to Budi, PLN executives told villagers Minister of
Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto gave the company
permission to build the tower even if the project was not
approved by local authorities and residents.

Budi said the executives also said they would continue the
project at all costs because they were afraid the central
government would cancel the project if it fell behind schedule.

The PLN officials repeatedly warned the villagers not to
disturb the construction of the tower because the project was
being carried out on PLN-owned land, he said.

"They also once promised to meet with residents before
installing the cables, but they never did," he said.

Local authorities, including Kelapa Dua village chief Memet HS
and the Tangerang regency office, supported the villagers'
protest on Friday.

"We're very upset PLN doesn't care if their project has
affected other people. Is such an attitude tolerable in this era
of reform," Memet said.

Tangerang regency spokesman Slamet Putranto called on PLN to
settle its problems with the villagers in order to allow the
state company's project to continue smoothly.

"But if the project continues to be protested by residents, it
would be wise (for PLN) to move the tower to another location,"
Slamet said.

After venting their anger at PLN for over an hour, the
residents peacefully dispersed.(24/bsr)