Regent asked to stop sand quarrying
Regent asked to stop sand quarrying
TANGERANG (JP): Council Speaker of Tangerang Regency, Dadang
Kartasasmita, on Thursday asked Regent Agus Djunara to
immediately stop the illegal sand quarrying in Sepatan.
"The business is against existing regulations and has
disturbed many local residents," he said, referring to the strong
protest aired by Sepatan people grouped in Formasi (Independent
Sepatan Society Forum).
According to Dadang, the Sepatan district is zoned as paddy
field as stipulated in Law number 24/1992 and Presidential Decree
number 32/1990 on natural conservation and protected forest for
spots in the northern coastal area of Java Island.
"The illegal sand quarrying has damaged some four hectares of
the area and ruined roads heading to the location. A public
graveyard near the location is about to be eroded due to the
illicit business.
"We (councillors) hope that the regent will take stiff
measures against those responsible for the business as demanded
by the Sepatan people," the Council Speaker told the visiting
protesters led by Formasi chairman Mochammad Rusdi Murjan.
No comments could be obtained from the regent administration
office as of late in Thursday afternoon.
During the meeting, Rusdi threatened that he would come with
more Sepatan residents to the council building or regent office
should their complaints, which they have repeatedly aired, still
fell on deaf ears.
He said that dozens of noisy trucks haul sand in the area
night and day without making any efforts to save the local
environment. A number of small lakes can be found in the area as
a result of the illegal business.
"Some residents have fallen into the lakes. Another impact is
that most of the artesian wells belonging to locals residing in
the nearby area are dry in dry season due to their massive
activities," Rusdi said.
He wondered why the authorities declined to take action on the
illegal business even though residents have repeatedly reported
the violation to them.
The companies, he added, had once hired hoodlums, armed with
machetes, to deal with local people, who had rallied at the sand
quarry site to ask them to stop the activities.
"We, the Sepatan residents, have begun to get fed up with this
matter," he warned.
Neither Rusdi nor councillor Dadang was willing to name the
companies or parties involved in the illegal business.
A number of sand-rich spots in the coastal area of Tangerang
have been illegally excavated by companies for constructions in
Greater Jakarta area.
The sand trucks usually stop at certain locations, such as
those on Jl. Kelapa Dua Raya in Karawaci, damaging the road and
causing routine traffic congestion. (bsr/41)