West Bandung Residents Erect Protest Banners After Governor's Inspection of 'Snow'-Causing Limestone Plant

Following a surprise inspection by West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi of a limestone processing plant in Cipatat, West Bandung Regency, local residents have voiced their frustration by erecting protest banners. The industrial activity has long caused a phenomenon likened to ‘snow’, with fine white dust blanketing the surrounding residential area.

The banners, installed along the Cianjur-Bandung highway, were put up by a group calling itself the Cipatat People’s Care Movement (Gampil). One banner reads: ‘Hard Warning: Speed up and pass through this area quickly if you do not want to die sooner. This is a Pollution Competition Zone.’ Another states: ‘You Are Entering a Pollution Emergency Zone (Approved). Do not remove your mask, as the risk and your fate are your own responsibility.’

Gampil coordinator Yasun Yusron stated that the action was a form of protest against air pollution that has persisted for decades without resolution. He explained that residents have long suffered from exposure to fine dust that covers rooftops and plants white and poses a threat to respiratory health. ‘The air pollution levels in our environment are extremely high. Fine dust enters our homes, continuously coating the roof tiles white. Day after day without stopping, which is why the banner states it is no longer fit for habitation,’ Yasun said on Friday.