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)