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Lapindo mudflow victims cite cancer, hardships
No ending: An aerial view of the Lapindo mudflow from above Jl
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No ending: An aerial view of the Lapindo mudflow from above Jl. Raya Porong in Siring, Sidoarjo on May 22, 2012. (Antara/Eric Ireng)
The failure to stop the mudflow that has been ongoing in Porong in Sidoarjo, East Java, since 2006 is severely damaging the environment and threatening public health.
Several families have been suffering from cancer and other diseases, according to local residents.
“The mudflow has polluted our air and water, one such resident, Harwati, said.
Harwati said that her husband died from lung cancer four years ago. “My husband used to be a very healthy man, but after years of exposure his lungs began to deteriorate. Then we found out that he had developed cancer.”
The woman said that she had received no compensation for her husband’s treatment from PT Lapindo Brantas, which has been blamed for the drilling that started the mudflow by some experts.
“Many members of my family and neighbors have also begun showing symptoms of cancer,” she said.
For nearly seven years, the mudflow has destroyed the livelihoods of the residents of Porong in particular and of Sidoarjo more generally.
The monetary value of the damage wrought by the continuous high-pressure mudflow has been estimated at Rp 27.7 trillion (US$2.9 billion) by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).
The mudflow has also buried more than 600 hectares, displaced 39,700 people and submerged three subdistricts comprising 12 villages and 11,241 buildings and 362 hectares of rice fields.
The earth continues to spew forth up to 15,000 cubic meters of mud every day in Sidoarjo, down from 150,000 cubic meters a day during its peak, according to the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS).
Taxpayers have paid more than Rp 3 trillion in compensation to date via the state budget. The government has budgeted Rp 723 billion in compensation for 2013 alone.
Lapindo, however, has cited arguments from dissenting scientists who claimed that the mudflow was triggered by a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that hit Yogyakarta two days before the eruption took place.
Amid the continuing hardships faced by local residents, the disaster has become a regular political subject. Lapindo is partially owned by the politically wired Bakrie family, which is under the patronage of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono slammed Lapindo late last month for failing to pay compensation to the Sidoarjo mudflow victims. “I heard that Lapindo has not fulfilled its obligations. Its liability of Rp 800 billion [$82.9 million] has not been met. Tell Lapindo that it must keep its promise. It’s a sin if they play around with these people,” Yudhoyono said.
