Offshore sand mining angers Tirtayasa residents
Offshore sand mining angers Tirtayasa residents
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang
"Since the sand mining began, my husband has not been able to
catch as many fish as before and his income has dropped. My sons
have even had to stop going to school because we can't afford the
fees anymore," said Minah, a resident of Lontar village in
Tirtayasa district, Serang regency, Banten.
The 34-year-old mother of four is just one of hundreds of
residents along the coast of Banten who claim to have suffered
damages because of sand mining by PT Jetstar.
According to Minah, before the sand mining began, her husband,
Matsin, 35, was able to bring home at least Rp 20,000 (US$2.22) a
day. But in the past six months, Matsin has earned only Rp 5,000
a day and sometimes nothing.
"All we want is for the regency administration to stop the
sand mining," she said.
A recent survey by the Banten Earth Conservation Center found
the water in the Banten Gulf was so polluted that farmers could
no longer use it to fill their fishponds, leaving at least 60,000
fishponds unproductive.
The survey also said that sand mining had seriously damaged
the coastal environment, had increased social and economic
problems and could submerge three islets in the gulf in the next
four to five years. Sand mining, according to the survey, had
also damaged coral reefs and marine life and altered tidal
movements.
Residents say they have repeatedly complained to the
administration to halt the sand mining, but that Serang Regent
Bunyamin has turned a deaf ear to their complaints. Residents
rampaged through the regent's office last week, though Bunyamin
was not present at the time.
PT Jetstar obtained a permit from the regency administration
in 2001 to carry out the sand mining.
Calls have increased for the administration to revoke the
permit, but one administration official, Martedjo, said there
were concerns PT Jetstar would file a lawsuit if that happened.
The administration has, however, issued an order to the
company to temporary halt its sand mining activities.
PT Jetstar president Henry Hartono is angry about the order,
which he said has caused his company more than Rp 600 million in
losses, and has threatened to sue the administration.
The chairman of Banten Council's Commission D on development
affairs, Suwarno, said the council had received reports of
environmental damage allegedly caused by the sand mining.
"We have asked the Banten Environmental Impact Management
Agency to study the impact of the sand mining. We have already
received (unofficial) reports that the sand mining has damaged
the environment in the gulf.
"We will wait for the results of the agency's study, which we
will use as our basis to decide whether or not to recommend the
revocation on the sand mining permit."