Padang restores historical buildings

Padang restores historical buildings

PADANG, West Sumatra: A number of historical buildings, a
legacy of the Dutch colonial days and the Japanese occupation in
the subdistrict of Pasa Padang, South Padang district, Padang,
will be preserved to promote tourism.

Sources at the municipal office said on Thursday at least 67
old buildings located in Pasar Mudik, Pasar Gadang, Pasar
Batiputih and their environs would be refurbished with World Bank
aid worth Rp 1 billion.

Padang Mayor Zuiyen Rais said that the renovation was also
expected to support historical records of this world heritage
site in the city, which marks the entry of the Dutch East Indies
Company (VOC) in 1666 and the first call of a Dutch vessel in
Muaroin 1669.
--Antara

Suicide on the rise in Gunungkidul

YOGYAKARTA: The regency of Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, notorious
for the prevalence of suicides by hanging, again reported two
such cases that happened almost simultaneously earlier this
month, local police said on Friday.

Gunungkidul Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ngudi Prayitno
disclosed that two elderly housewives, Tayem, 67, in Sidoharjo
village, Tepus district, and Kasmo, 55, in Semin village, Semin
district, had hanged themselves for no apparent reason.

In the period from January to the beginning of June 2002, the
regency registered six suicide cases by the same means, despite
efforts by police, local religious and community leaders to
provide information to discourage such desperate acts.

Meanwhile, villagers responded to the phenomenon by conducting
a ritual and prayers to ward off what they believed were pulung
gantung or evil spirits manifesting themselves in the form of red
and yellow luminescent hanging ropes mostly appearing at night.
--Antara

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Fishermen's catch in Luwu plummets

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Rampant dynamite fishing used by
irresponsible people along the coastal waters of Luwu regency and
North Luwu has not only drastically reduced the local fishermen's
catch but also damaged the coral reefs in the area.

A local fisherman, Taufik Samad said on Friday many fishermen
had been using dynamite to catch fish in Luwu in the last few
years, causing a sharp drop in local fishermen's income.

Taufik revealed the rampant use of explosives had been
reported to related authorities but so far there had been no
response. He added that he believed that there was close
cooperation between the officers and the perpetrators.

Taufik acknowledged that for the last three years their catch
had dropped sharply since Bone Bay, which used to be a transit
place for the schools of tunas and other kinds of fish, had lost
a large part of its coral reefs.--Antara