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.