Medan, Kupang crippled by kerosene shortage
Medan, Kupang crippled by kerosene shortage
The Jakarta Post, Kupang/Medan
After his area became the crash site of Mandala aircraft last
week, now Pandai Bukit has to deal with another problem: kerosene
scarcity.
On Monday, the 54-year-old native of Karo, who is living in
the Padang Bulan market area, has lined up for two hours under
scorching sun with a container in his hand. He did not dare to
leave his queue since his family relied on kerosene to cook the
family's meals.
"We have not yet fully recovered from the crash, and now we
have to suffer this kerosene shortage. This is so hard for us,"
the father of five told The Jakarta Post.
Still, the residents have to pay more for kerosene. The retail
price of kerosene has reached Rp 1,500 (15 U.S. cents) per liter,
compared to the regular Rp 900 per liter.
"I've been looking everywhere, but there's no kerosene
anywhere. Only here I found it. It's okay to line up as long as I
can bring home kerosene," said Pandai Bukit, whose house
miraculously stayed in one piece after the aircraft ripped his
neighbors' houses apart.
The Boeing-737 Mandala Airlines aircraft crashed into a
densely populated residential area of Padang Bulan in Medan after
take-off last Monday, leaving at least 149 people, including 38
residents on the ground, dead.
Syawal, a kerosene agent in the area, blamed the scarcity on
the absence of fresh kerosene supplies from state oil company
Pertamina.
"It's been a week and we haven't received any kerosene from
Pertamina. We don't know why but we heard that Pertamina has
limited supply of kerosene now," said the 31-year-old, whose
house roof was damaged in the crash.
He said that on Monday he received supplies, but in very
limited quantities. "We usually receive 30 tonnes of kerosene
every month, but now, the supply has been cut to 20 tonnes. This
situation forces us to limit each family to 10 liters of
kerosene," Syawal said.
The kerosene scarcity in the East Nusa Tenggara town of Kupang
over the last three days has spread to several other regencies,
including Kupang, Timor Tengah Utara and Rote Ndao, with prices
climbing to Rp 2,000 per liter.
Head of Pertamina's marketing unit in Kupang, Adi Nugroho,
said on Monday that the company has assigned three teams to
investigate the scarcity.
"All this time Pertamina has distributed kerosene according to
demand. I don't know why there's kerosene shortage everywhere,"
he said after attending a plenary meeting of the provincial
council.
He suspected some traders who had taken advantage the issue of
fuel price hike to hoard kerosene for their own profit. He said
the company had requested the police to help in watching kerosene
distribution and to take action against those found hoarding the
commodity.
Chief of East Nusa Tenggara Police, Brig. Gen. Edward
Aritonang, said police had been assigned to ensure smooth
distribution.
"Police will secure those buying (kerosene) in large
quantities. One should not take advantage the fuel price issue to
put others in jeopardy," Aritonang said.
The scarcity has also forced some Kupang city residents to
return to the old ways, by using wood as a fuel.
"The government doesn't seem care about people's welfare.
We're suffering. During the elections, were promised a better
living, but we're suffering," said Samue, a Takari village
resident.