Tangerang, Bogor say no to city's gabage

Tangerang, Bogor say no to city's gabage

Multa Fidrus and Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang/Bogor

Dozens of garbage trucks that had traveled from Jakarta to
unload trash in Tangerang and Bogor were forced to return to the
capital on Tuesday after encountering strong resistance from the
administrations and local populations in the two municipalities.

Residents near the Rawa Kucing dump site in Tangerang even
threatened to set fire to the trucks and burn their drivers alive
if they attempted to dump garbage in the area.

They became angry after 12 garbage trucks from Jakarta managed
to dump their loads on Monday night. Another 24 trucks were
forced to return to the capital.

A total of 15 trucks belonging to the city administration that
had planned to dispose of garbage in the Gunung Sindur district
in Bogor were also ordered to return to Jakarta by the district
head.

The Tangerang Sanitary Agency chief Daryanto said that,
although Mayor M. Thamrin had ordered his officers to block three
entry points to the Rawa Kucing dump, nine garbage trucks still
managed to unload there on Monday night.

Several residents in Kedaung, which is not far from the dump,
said three other trucks delivered garbage in front of Kedaung
Sakti animal farm on Monday evening, while three other trucks
were stopped by residents.

According to Daryanto, the city garbage trucks entered
Tangerang from Jl. Daan Mogot. All of the vehicles were covered
so that the officers did not realize they contained trash.

"Several city sanitary officials who surveyed the dumping site
on Saturday said the city would begin disposing trash there on
Tuesday. But in fact, they began disposing on Monday evening," he
head.

Quoting mayor M. Thamrin's statement on Tuesday morning,
Daryanto said that the municipality remained strongly opposed to
accepting the garbage, no matter how much compensation Tangerang
might receive from the city.

Earlier, Tangerang had rejected the city's plan to use its
land in Ciangir as a garbage dump.

Daryanto also said that, after the closure of the Bantar
Gebang site in Bekasi, several officials from the West, South and
Central Jakarta sanitary agencies had approached a resident named
Erwin, who owns a two-hectare former sand mining plot in Kedaung
Wetan subdistrict.

One of the man's neighbors said that Erwin had agreed to the
agencies' plan to dispose of garbage on the site, but that he had
faced opposition from other locals.

The city officials then appointed a local resident named Acan
to collect some 100 local residents' signatures on a statement
approving the plan to use the site as a city garbage dump.

The statement was even approved by the subdistrict chief
Teddy.

Acan allegedly promised residents between Rp 3 million and Rp
5 million for adding their signatures.

Suhandi, head of the Gunung Sindur district in Bogor, said
that the Jakarta administration should not dispose of the city's
garbage in the area without a permit from the Bogor authorities.

Meanwhile, a local councilor, Iyus Kusnadi, said the council
would oppose any plan to dump the garbage in Bogor even if it had
been approved by the administration.

Jakarta has reportedly secured a permit to use a plot of land
in Bojong, Bogor as a garbage dump, but locals are against the
plan.