Residents seek closure of polluting companies

Residents seek closure of polluting companies

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Furious residents of Sukabumi Selatan subdistrict in West Jakarta
demanded on Tuesday that the City Council close down dozens of
laundry companies that have allegedly caused serious pollution in
their areas.

Protesting in front of the council building on Jl. Kebon
Sirih, Central Jakarta, the residents said the companies had
disposed of liquid waste directly into Pasanggrahan and
Sekretaris rivers without treating it first.

Mifdol, one of the residents, said they could no longer drink
water from artesian wells as it had been contaminated by
hazardous substances from the companies.

He said there were over 55 laundry firms washing blue jeans
there. He said detergents and blue dye from the jeans had
polluted both the rivers and their surrounding areas.

"Councillors are our last hope because officials from
subdistrict to municipal level have ignored our protests," Mifdol
said.

The residents have also accused those companies of using vast
amounts of groundwater, causing people living in the vicinity to
suffer water shortages.

Anwar, another resident, said many people -- particularly
those whose houses are close to the firms -- have complained
that, since last year, they could no longer pump up
groundwater.

According to officials from the city industry agency and the
city mining agency, many of those companies are not equipped with
complete documents, including permits for pumping up
groundwater.

Several residents said the companies had begun their
operations in those areas in the early 1990s. But residents had
only protested recently after realizing the impact of the
pollution on their environment.

The demonstrators were received by members of Commission D for
development affairs and commission A for legal and administrative
affairs.

Commission D deputy chairman Muhayar promised to check the
locations next week. He said the council might recommend the
closure of those companies if they were indeed illegal and the
pollution charges were proved.

Governor Sutiyoso previously said that the city administration
would not change the land use plan for Sukabumi Selatan
subdistrict from a residential area into an industrial zone.

Chairman of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency
(BPLHD) Kosasih Wirahadikusumah made a similar statement on
Tuesday, saying that those companies had violated the city's land
use plan.

He said the city administration would close down those
companies because they had violated several regulations including
the illegal use of groundwater and disposing of waste without
treatment.

He suggested that those companies relocate their operations to
the Pulo Gadung industrial zone in East Jakarta so that they
would not disturb residential areas.