Landslide bylaw to be issued

Landslide bylaw to be issued

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Kuningan, West Java

The Kuningan regental administration will soon issue a bylaw that
will prohibit local residents from building permanent houses in
several landslide-prone areas.

The policy aims to protect residents from the dangers of
landslides, which occur nearly every year.

"The legislative council has given its approval. The bylaw
will restrict residents from building permanent houses in
landslide-prone areas such as at the foot of a hill or on the
slopes of a mountain," said Aang Hamid Suganda, the regent of
Kuningan, on Thursday.

Aang said that the bylaw was important and had to be
immediately issued, as many areas in Kuningan were prone to
landslides.

Moreover, precious lessons have taught that landslides can be
fatal.

Several days ago, at least three roads connecting several
villages in Selajambe, Subang and Darma subdistricts were cut off
due to a landslide. The landslide also damaged dozens of houses
in the area, but no fatalities were reported.

The worst landslide tragedy to date hit Cantilan village,
Selajambe subdistrict in Kuningan regency on Jan. 31 last year,
in which 10 people died and one was seriously injured. It also
destroyed four houses.

The regent asked the heads of subdistricts in Kuningan to
adopt precautionary measures, namely to immediately evacuate
local residents when heavy rain occurs in landslide-prone areas.

Meanwhile, speaker of the Kuningan Legislative Council, Ading
Ahyadi, said the council would approve the government proposal to
issue the bylaw.

A bylaw can be proposed either by the government or local
council. After it is proposed, both sides will discuss it and
finally sign it into law.