Residents complain of sand mining

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Residents of Lengkong Wetan, Serpong district, Tangerang regency, have complained of illegal sand extraction in their village and that the resulting heavy traffic had damaged roads and the environment in the area.

"Since the sand extraction work started in March, every day dozens of trucks heading to and from the site have been passing along the village roads, which were built only for light vehicles," Nasrullah, a public figure in the village told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He said the village road that connected Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) City with Bintaro, Pondok Aren district, was now badly potholed, and some parts of the road were virtually impassable.

The road has long been employed as an alternative route by motorists wishing to cut journey times and avoid the heavy traffic along Jl. Raya Serpong from BSD City to Bintaro.

The Post recently observed dozens of dump trucks heading to and from the site where the sand is being extracted, which is located right behind the Giriloka housing complex in BSD City.

Arsid, head of the Serpong district administration, said that the sand extraction in the village was illegal and that he had sent warnings to the quarry.

"The regency administration has banned sand extraction in Serpong district and it never grants permits for such activities," he said.

Tangerang Government Watch coordinator Tonny Wismantoro said that the sand extraction work was damaging the environment in the vicinity.

He also said that the regency administration had banned sand extraction in Serpong district and therefore the regency public order agency was under a duty to take action to halt the activity.

"Warning letters from the district administration head are not enough," he said.

However, the director of public services at BSD City, Dhonny Rahajoe, said the site belonged to BSD City, and that it was, in fact, the construction site for an 11-hectare basin to prevent flooding in accordance with the BSD City masterplan.

"When the excavation of the 15-meter-deep basin started recently, the contractor found too much sand," he told the Post, adding that the project had been granted a permit by the regency administration.