Coastline erosion a problem, says regent

TANGERANG: Regent Ismet Iskandar acknowledged over the weekend his office had yet to take any measures to stop continued erosion along the north coast of Tangerang.

"We cannot stop the offshore sand mining; we have tried but to no avail. We need the central government to step in on this matter," he said.

He said his office had been able to stop companies based in Jakarta from mining sand on and near the shore. "But since they moved offshore we have been unable to stop their activities because our jurisdiction only extends 200 meters from the coastline."

Ismet added that a huge amount of money would be needed to curb the erosion, but most of the regency's annual budget had been allotted for roadwork. -- JP