Water firm cuts pipes in slum

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 10/06/2007 8:21 AM  |  Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an effort to stop illegal piped water connections, operator PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) disconnected more pipes Friday in a slum in Jembatan Tiga, North Jakarta.

Palyja kicked off the three-day operation Thursday, when it disconnected dozens of illegal pipes in three different locations in the slum, which is located under the Tanjung Priok port turnpike.

""We are now working towards cutting off illegal pipes found in three other locations,"" said the company's area manager Robert Sitorus.

He said the illegal pipes had been used for many years to channel treated piped water, distributed by Palyja, to several public bathrooms in the slum.

""This area is an illegal settlement. Squatters living here cannot possibly have access to treated piped water unless they steal it,"" he said.

Robert said the illegal pipes had been installed by officials from state offices. However, he refused to mention the names of those suspected of doing so, who had also charged squatters to use the public bathrooms.

He said the stolen water had also been sold by the unnamed figures to several districts in North Jakarta where residents had no access to clean water.

""These people rely on water tank vehicles to bring clean water to areas in North Jakarta,"" Robert said, pointing to a green water tanker parked in front of a public bathroom.

""We believe the water theft has been going on for many years. We discovered it after we checked our water measurement equipment ... there was a loss of 30 liters of treated piped water per second in the distribution area of Muara Karang (North Jakarta), where the customers had complained the water running to their homes was slow or had stopped running altogether.""

Palyja's public relations manager, Meyritha Maryanie, said the theft cases had been filed at the North Jakarta Police station for further investigation.

The company has also taken action against illegal water use in several big restaurants and hotels in South and West Jakarta. The restaurants and hotels had registered as the company's customers but had manipulated water meters to reduce the recorded amount of consumed water.

Robert said the building operators had been penalized for the manipulation. (12)

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