JP/7/Waste

JP/7/Waste

Ainur R. Sophiaan
The Jakarta Post
Surabaya

In the rainy season approaches, Surabaya, the East Java
provincial capital with a population of 2.4 million, is facing
the threat of diarrhea and dengue fever epidemics following the
forced closure of a garbage dump in Keputih Subdistrict.

Around 200,000 cubic meters of household waste are being
stored in around 400 temporary dumps in the city since the
weekend while the collection of household trash has been halted,
causing a deterioration in the environment and a foul odor.

M. Yasin, secretary of the municipal administration, called on
citizens to manage their household waste wisely while
negotiations between the municipal administration and protesters
in Keputih continued.

"The Keputih residents' unilateral action in preventing trucks
from dumping garbage at the dump is intolerable since it is goes
against the interests of the majority," he said here on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 Keputih residents have been blocking garbage
trucks from entering the vast dump following the municipal
administration's failure to provide a public health center and
carry out a regreening program in the subdistrict.

"The municipal administration has broken its promise to
residents to provide a public health center, construct dikes and
regreen the subdistrict," Fathoni, a spokesman for the
protesters, said.

According to the protesters, the municipal administration has
not demonstrated its good faith. "We are forced to put up with
the smell of the garbage everyday and we also frequently suffer
from diarrhea and dengue fever epidemics, but the authorities
never listen to our aspirations," he said.

Yasin, another resident of Keputih, said however that not all
residents wanted to close the dump and that the deadline set for
the municipal administration to provide the social facilities and
regreening program was until 2002.

Around one hundred police officers have been stationed near
the dump to provide security for the transportation of the city's
garbage to the area.

"We want the residents and the municipal administration to
hold negotiations about the problem and to prevent residents from
turning violent. We should have learned from last year's clashes
over the same problem," said Adj. Sr. Comr. Safaruddin, chief of
the East Surabaya Police Precinct.

M. Isman, a councillor, conceded that the trash issue had
become a chronic problem that was negatively affecting residents
near the dump.

"During the rainy season, the municipal administration must
stay alert for possible outbreaks of diarrhea and dengue fever
epidemics," he said.