Sutiyoso wants burning of garbage truck in Bekasi be investigated

Sutiyoso wants burning of garbage truck in Bekasi be investigated

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The sour relationship between the city administration and the
Bekasi municipal administration over use of the Bantar Gebang
dump site in Bekasi was further aggravated on Thursday after the
burning of a city-owned garbage truck whose driver dumped garbage
on the roadside near the site.

Governor Sutiyoso ordered on Friday that his officers
investigate the incident, saying that the driver should not have
dumped the waste in an improper place.

He said the driver did it upon the request of scavengers, who
would search the garbage for items that could be recycled.

He said that disciplinary action would be taken against the
driver.

But Sutiyoso denied reports that the truck was burned by angry
residents.

The governor said that the truck was set ablaze by a group of
local youths after the driver refused to give them money.

He promised to handle the case thoroughly in an effort to
improve the soured relationship with the Bekasi municipal
administration, admitting that Jakarta relies heavily on Bekasi
in the handling of garbage.

"We have to work together to solve the problem. But of course,
we have to get a win-win solution," he said.

The city administration is in dispute with the Bekasi
administration over Jakarta's use of the 104-hectare Bantar
Gebang dump site.

Bekasi has accused Jakarta of causing environmental damage and
threatened to close it down by the end of the year unless Jakarta
appoints a private company to properly treat the waste, set up an
independent team to evaluate the work, and hand over 50 hectares
of the site to Bekasi.

Sutiyoso warned on Wednesday that legal action could be taken
against the Bekasi administration as Jakarta had secured a permit
to use the site until 2003.