Local angry over waste from pig farms

TANGERANG (JP): About 300 residents of Tanjung Burung village in Teluk Naga district here went to the Tangerang regency office on Tuesday to protest pig farming in their village.

They said the closure of the pig farms was needed because its owners dumped waste straight into the nearby Cisadane river, where local residents bathed, washed clothes and took drinking water.

The pig farms, which started operating in 1983, also spread a really bad smell over the surrounding area, the protesters claimed.

They urged regent Agus Djunara to remove Teluk Naga district head Abdul Chalik for his alleged involvement in nepotistic practices linked to the farm's operation.

Sahroni, one of the protesters, said that they flocked to the regency office because their previous protests were not heeded adequately.

He said they rented several minivans to transport the residents the 26 kilometers from their village.

"Even though we are forced to spend much money, it is okay for the sake of our struggle," he said.

Sahroni threatened to return to the office with more people if the authorities did not pay proper attention to the protesters' complaints.

"Yes we will come here again if our demand is not met," he said.

Regency spokeswoman Ena Karlina has said in the past that the authorities are powerless to prevent people running pig farms on their properties, even if they did not have permits authorizing the practice.

"The farms are illegal, but they are no different from chicken or goat farms, so we are powerless to take stiff measures against the owners," she said.

But Karlina said that pig owners should be careful over how they disposed of waste from their farms.

She said that based on an agreement reached by regency officials and representatives of local residents, the government's livestock husbandry office had been assigned to put the pig farms in the area in order.

"A team assigned to handle the case reported that the pig farm owners made mudholes to accommodate waste from the farms. But we'll check on this," she said.

Budianto, Teluk Naga district's secretary, said there were six pig farms in his area, of which only one was legal.

The farms were all owned by individuals, he said. (41/hhr)