Four villages to sink

Four villages to sink

CILACAP, Central Java: Four villages in the Matenggeng area
along the West Java-Central Java border have been earmarked for a
new reservoir, the Cilacap Regency administration said.

A team from the Ciamis Regency administration in West Java
will be sent to the four villages, inhabited by 1,226 families,
or more than 4,000 people, to inform them of the plan and ensure
that they are properly compensated, Roesmidi, the head of
Cilacap's regional planning board, told Antara.

Roesmidi stressed the need to avoid conflict during the
process of clearing the land.

The four villages affected by the project are Bingkeng and
Bolang in Cilacap, and Kaso and Kadupandak in Ciamis.

When completed, the reservoir will be able to irrigate some
23,000 hectares of rice fields in Cilacap and 11,000 in Ciamis,
besides generating 15 to 37 megawatts of electricity and
supplying clean water to the regencies, Roesmidi said, adding
that he hoped the project could begin this year.

The reservoir will also be able to accommodate water from the
Cijolang river which tends to overflow during the rainy season,
he said. (emb)