Govt assists W. Lampung to recover from landslide

Govt assists W. Lampung to recover from landslide

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Krui, Lampung

The government granted on Wednesday Rp 1 billion (US$111,000) in
financial assistance to the West Lampung administration to help
several villages there recover from a landslide disaster.

Vice President Hamzah Haz said the donation would be used to
rebuild destroyed houses, damaged public facilities and other
public utilities.

"We hope this assistance can help speed up the recovery of
West Lampung from the tragedy," he said at the ceremony in Krui
village, Central Pesisir subdistrict, West Lampung regency,
Lampung.

Hamzah was accompanied by Minister of Resettlement and
Regional Infrastructure Soenarno, Minister of Social Affairs
Bachtiar Chamsyah and Minister of Cooperatives and Small Medium
Enterprises Alimarwan Hanan.

He was welcomed by Lampung Governor Oemarsono and West Lampung
regent Erwin Nizar.

The Kuwaiti government also donated US$40,000 to victims of
the flooding and landslide disasters.

On Dec. 27, 2002, floods and landslides occurred in several
villages in West Lampung , including Krui, Gunung Gemala and
Liwa.

The disasters claimed 11 lives and injured 31 others in Gunung
Gemala. Floods also inundated 497 houses and damaged public
facilities.

The disasters also severed road links between West Lampung and
Bengkulu province, forcing the authorities to divert land
transportation via the Central Lampung route.

Hamzah went on to say that Lampung had a strategic position as
a hub connecting provinces in Sumatra and Java; thus, financial
assistance was necessary to help regencies in the province
function properly.

"We should prioritize regencies that have a lot of potential,"
he said. He did not elaborate.

The government also allocated Rp 20 billion to repair roads
and bridges destroyed by the disaster.