Damaged Roads and Dust Disrupt Residents of East Lombok, Impact of Haulage Trucks
Residents of Kalijaga Timur Village, Aikmel Sub-district, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), are complaining about a damaged road stretching approximately 3 kilometres that has yet to be repaired. The damage is suspected to be caused by the constant passage of trucks transporting mining material C.
Mustaqim (38), a local resident, stated that the road’s damaged condition has persisted for years. Trucks carrying sand are said to be the main cause of the damage.
“This road has been damaged for years. This road is frequently traversed by trucks hauling sand from mining sites. This is what has caused the roads in our village to become severely damaged,” he said when met by detikBali on Friday (10/4/2026).
Not only damaged, the dust from passing trucks also disrupts residents’ activities, particularly for motorcyclists.
“If we ride a motorbike and our position is behind the truck, the dust is extremely disturbing. Because this area is where these trucks pass back and forth,” said Mustaqim.
Similar complaints were voiced by Nurhayati (33). She said she has to wear a mask when passing through, especially during the daytime.
“If passing through here, you have to wear a mask, especially when coming home from the market in the afternoon, or when dropping off and picking up children from school, we pass through here. The dust makes us uncomfortable,” said Nurhayati.
During the rainy season, the road turns muddy and is filled with puddles. Conversely, during the dry season, the dust becomes even worse.
“During the rainy season, it’s definitely muddy because there are puddles everywhere. Once the hot season starts, the condition is like now, with a lot of dust,” added Nurhayati.
The Head of Kalijaga Timur Village, Hiswaton, said that the road is a main access route connecting Wanasaba, Aikmel, and Labuhan Haji Sub-districts. However, despite repeated reports to the East Lombok District Government, no repairs have been carried out.
“We have reported it to the District several times, and we have also sent proposals multiple times, but there has been no repair to date,” he said.
He added that residents once blockaded the road as a form of protest, but it has not yielded results.
“The residents in our village were so frustrated seeing the damaged road that wasn’t being repaired, they once blockaded the road. But the result was only promises from the District Government. Just recently, we reported it again to the Regent, and it was promised for the budget revision,” said Hiswaton.
According to Hiswaton, this condition also impacts residents’ health. Based on data from the local health centre, cases of respiratory disorders increase during the dry season.
“From the health centre’s reports, indeed when entering the dry season, many of our community members come to the health centre with complaints of respiratory tract issues. We are worried that if this continues, more residents will complain of respiratory problems,” concluded Hiswaton.