Residents protest poor road

BEKASI: Hundreds of residents of Jatiasih neighborhood, Bekasi town protested the condition of the one-kilometer road between their neighborhood and the town's center by planting a row of banana trees in potholes in the road's surface.

The residents had been protesting since Saturday, when they burned tires on the road.

They said the road, which was the only road to the town's center had been neglected by the administration.

"We reported the condition of the road many times... this is our last resort," one resident, Wanardi, said.

He added that residents of the neighborhood had always paid their building and land taxes on time.

The residents said that the road had been damaged by big trucks and public transportation vehicles plying Pondok Gede- Cileungsi and Bantar Gebang-Kampung Rambutan.

The protesters obstructed the road, forcing motorists to turn back.

Head of Bekasi Public Works Agency, Tjandra Oetama, said the administration did not have the funds to repair the road. -- JP