Residents complain of sand mining

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.