Disappointed residents blockade toll road construction in Semarang

Protesting disputed land compensation payments, dozens of Kalirejo residents in Semarang Regency, Central Java blockaded the construction of a toll road on Sunday. The toll road is planned to connect Semarang and Surakarta.

Besides raising a 15-meter bamboo barrier on the highway under construction, protesters also set up a temporary bamboo hut to hamper trucks going in and out of the project site.

The rally was staged in response to a land compensation agreement with the contractor that residents have disputed since 2008, the protesters said, adding that they were evicted from their houses on July 30 last year.

“We will stay in the hut until they deliver decent compensation,” protester Budiono, 38, said, adding that before the forced eviction he had a two-story house on a 125 square meter plot of land. Budiono requested Rp 965 million (US$107,103 million) in compensation from the road contractor, but only received Rp 288 million.