River-polluting firms to face the music
River-polluting firms to face the music
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
The Tangerang Regency Environmental Agency has alleged that
industrial firms in Tangerang regency and Tangerang municipality
are dumping untreated liquid waste into rivers.
Agency head Deden Sugandhi said on Wednesday the waste was
usually dumped before dawn by the factories' security guards.
He said officers from his agency arrested early Monday a
security guard at a factory in Balaraja who was caught disposing
of liquid waste into the Ciracab River, which passes near the
industrial zones in the Balaraja, Cikupa and Pasar Kemis
districts. Deden refused to identify the firm, saying the agency
was still preparing to bring the case to court.
During a recent operation by the agency involving at least 210
factories, only 60 were found to have liquid waste treatment
facilities, although the quality of the facilities remain in
question. Fifty other factories did not have the necessary liquid
waste treatment equipment, and the other 100 factories only
produced solid waste.
The Jakarta Post observed that the water of the Ciracab River
was blackish and foul smelling.
Farmers in Sukadiri district, which abuts the river, used to
depend on water from the Ciracab to irrigate their rice fields
but can no longer use the water because of the pollution.
"Residents living along the riverbank are bothered by the odor
but can't do anything about it," said Kuswali, a local ojek
(motorcycle taxi) driver.
The Cisadane river, which also passes through Tangerang, is
also polluted, though not as severely as the Ciracab.
Deden complained that the industrial firms were playing a game
of cat and mouse with the agency in dumping their liquid waste
into the two rivers.
"Many factories dispose of their liquid waste through
pipelines at dawn so that we can't see what they are doing.
"Security guards are ordered to open the pipelines at dawn. It
is impossible that they are doing this on their own, so they must
have been ordered," he said.
Deden said factory officials consistently denied any knowledge
of liquid waste being dumped into rivers, and dismissed the
accusation that security guards were acting on their orders.