Residents protest road damage in Tangerang
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.