Garbage problem shrouds Bekasi

BEKASI: Garbage along the streets of Bekasi has piled up over the Idul Fitri holidays, with most sanitation officials and workers taking their annual leave.

Over the weekend, piles of trash could be seen in Perumahan Nasional 1 housing complex, the neighborhood along Jl. Kayuringin, and all over Bekasi Selatan district.

Adin, who works as a garbage collector in Kayuringin, said he was not able to perform his duties as there was no truck service available to collect the waste and take it to Bantar Gebang dump.

""All the truck drivers have taken their annual holidays. No one is manning the office,"" he said as quoted by Tempointerakrif news portal over the weekend.

Separately, head of the Bekasi sanitation agency, Dedi Juanda, said there was no garbage-collection service over the past week as most residents had also left town on vacation.

""But we will start collecting the garbage once we have enough workers (back from holiday),"" he said. --JP