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Telkom helps bomb victims

DENPASAR, Bali: State-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom provided on Wednesday educational assistance worth Rp 220 million (US$22,000) for children of the victims of the Oct. 12 bombings, which killed more than 190 people.

"The educational aid shows how much we are concerned for the victims of the Bali bombing tragedy," a spokesman for the Telkom Bali office, Sumitra, said here on Wednesday.

The assistance, he said, was aimed at helping children who may face difficulties in financing their higher education.

Telkom previously collected Rp 27 million as a donation for the victims of the bombing.

The company also facilitated communications to lend support to various parties while they were taking care of the blast victims.

The company installed 28 lines at various locations around the blast site in Bali's main resort area of Legian, Kuta, at the command post set up by the provincial administration as well as Sanglah Hospital, where most of the victims were treated.

The Denpasar branch of PT Telkom, meanwhile, suffered a financial loss of Rp 100 million after its cables, which had channeled 85 lines for its customers, were damaged in the bomb blast. --Antara