Sleman farmers worry over water

YOGYAKARTA: Farmers in Sleman regency have expressed concern that water sources will be overexploited by developers of residential sites in nearby Yogyakarta.

Farmers of Ngaglik district said exploitation would disrupt the supply of water there.

"Ever since many developers began to use the spring at the foot of Mount Merapi we have worried that the water supply to irrigate our fields will be exhausted," Sumarjono, 46, a farmer of Wonocatur village said, as quoted by Antara on Saturday.

He said their concern stemmed from a similar experience in nearby Besi village, where water had become scare. The supply was believed to be channeled to city residential sites.

Sunarsono, 50, a developer in Sukoharjo village in Ngaglik, also said there was less water there due to exploitation by city developers.

To anticipate this, he said his company had tried to use water from the Mataram stream to supply residents in the central and southern part of Yogyakarta. The stream was initially planned to irrigate rice fields.

He said the measure was taken because rice fields there had already been converted into residential areas. (01)