Two die trying to save hen in Kendal
SEMARANG: Two villagers in the Central Java town of Kendal died while attempting to save a hen that fell into a well on Saturday.
Sunoto, 40, and his nephew Umar Mahmud, 19, -- residents of Tegalpolo village in Kaliungu subdistrict -- were killed reportedly after inhaling poisonous gas in a well behind their home.
The accident occurred when Sunoto asked Umar to rescue their hen that fell into the 28-meter deep well. But his nephew suddenly lost his grasp on the rope and fell before reaching the bottom.
Sonoto then rashly climbed down to rescue Umar but he, too, lost his grip and fell to the bottom.
Two of their neighbors tried to help them get out but backed out after being unable to breathe after descending five meters into the well.
Local villagers later reported the case to police. Wearing oxygen masks, police along with several marines, finally managed to retrieve the bodies.--Antara
Riau likely to face power outages
PEKANBARU, Riau: Riau and neighboring West Sumatra are likely to face a two-week power blackout starting on Monday until March 9 if there is not sufficient rainfall in the two provinces this week.
Ahmad Taufik Aji, local head of state-owned electricity company PT PLN, said the power cuts were inevitable should the water level in the Koto Panjang dam, the main power-generating plant for West Sumatra and Riau, remain critically low.
The alternate outages in at least eight areas in Riau and West Sumatra were meant to economize energy and control the water level in the dam, he said.
Another senior PLN official in Riau Jhoni Andullah Tilameo said around 140,000 consumers in Pakanbaru, who used 35 percent of the total installed capacity, would begin to face power outages commencing on Sunday until March 9 from 11 a.m, to 6 p.m.--Antara
Rp 2.4b spent for Manokwari projects
MANOKWARI, Irian Jaya: The local government has spent around Rp 2.4 billion of the provincial budget to finance the construction of public facilities in villages in Manokwari regency.
Chief development project supervisor Antonius S. said on Saturday the construction projects involving 16 local contractors were undertaken to provide locals with clean water and eight water storage tanks as well as 4,907 meters of roads in remote areas in the subdistricts of Warmare, Prafi and Masni.
Dominggus Ullo, a resident of Warmare, said that the project had helped local villagers overcome their clean water problem.
For decades, residents have had to walk some three kilometers to Prafi river to wash clothes and bathe.
The Arfak tribe who live in the fertile Warmare subdistrict, located some 45 kilometers west of Monokwari, are currently developing their area into an oil palm plantation and have asked the government to provide them with high-yield seedlings.