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)