Residents protest road damage in Tangerang

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Thousands of residents from the districts of Balaraja, Kresek and Kronjo in Tangerang, Banten province, blocked the main road connecting the three districts on Monday to demand the regency administration repair the damaged artery.

The road was blocked from Ceplak market in Balaraja to Kronjo district, preventing all vehicles except motorcycles from passing.

Residents of villages along the road placed oil drums, logs, bamboo, tires and stones in the street to block any cars attempting to travel between the districts.

In Tenjong village, Kresek district, residents moved several bamboo-constructed food stalls into the middle of the road.

"We have been patient with the administration for long enough. Now we have to protest and force them to pay attention to the problem by blocking the road," Suheri, 30, a resident of Sukamulya village, Balaraja district, told The Jakarta Post.

The father of two said residents were angry that the administration had left the road unpaved for so long. During the dry season, cars passing along the busy road raise dust clouds that coat everything in their path.

"As a result, many of us, especially the children, suffer from respiratory problems," Rachmat, 32, a resident of Kaliasin village, Balaraja, told the Post, adding that regency administration officials ignored the problem while they busied themselves with preparations for regent elections.

During negotiations with a police team led by Tangerang Police deputy chief Comr. IGD Sugianyar, residents said they would lift the blockade after the administration gave them a written agreement on when the roadwork would resume. They also demanded the administration agree to send trucks to water down the road at least twice a day until the roadwork was completed.

The chief of the regency highway construction, maintenance and irrigation agency, Maryoso, who met with demonstrators in Ceplak village, said the road project began in June 2001 and was entrusted to CV Cipadang Jaya Baya. He said the contractor should have completed the work by Dec. 31, 2002.

"On November 20, 2002, we canceled the contract because the contractor was only able to complete 22 percent of the total work while the deadline for the project was December 31, 2002," he said.

He said his agency was now looking for a new contractor to complete the halted project, and promised that by the middle of February a new contractor would resume the roadwork.

He also said the agency would water down the road twice a day in order to keep down the dust.