Firm uses rice to line road

Firm uses rice to line road

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: Mining firm PT Newmont Nusa
Tenggara (NNT) has acknowledged it used 70 tons of unhusked rice
to line a road on its mining site in West Nusa Tenggara.

In a written statement sent to Antara on Tuesday, the
management responded to criticism of rice being used for roads
amid the crisis.

The statement said the unhusked rice was laid along the road
in Batu Hijau, Sumbawa, with several types of grass.

The company denied using 400,000 tons of unhusked as reported
by the news agency, saying a remaining 12 tons would be
distributed to the needy in the area.

Unhusked rice is widely used for roads in rice producing
areas. Sumbawa Regent Jakob Koswara said the company had started
to use straw to line roads instead of unhusked rice.