Garbage piling up in Bandung

BANDUNG: Garbage has been piled up in Bandung since the election campaign began on March 11. On normal days, the amount of garbage the city generates some 7,000 cubic meters, but during the campaign, the amount of garbage collected by the Bandung Sanitation Agency increased to some 7,500 cubic meters.

Maman Budiman, the head of the agency, said on Wednesday that agency employees had to work harder to collect party paraphernalia trash that piled up on city corners during the campaign. Bandung has a population of 2.5 million.

He said that some 900 employees, including street sweepers, cleaned up garbage particularly in Gasibu field and Jl. Dalem Kaum, which are commonly used for staging campaign rallies.

Noting that the employees had to work harder during the campaign period, Maman said the agency had provided extra money to its employees during the election, saying that the employees received an extra Rp 3,500 per hour.

Maman said that the agency had allocated an additional Rp 2 million a day to cover extra operational costs during the campaign, including the incentive. -- JP