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Garbage piles cause unrest among residents in Babelan, Bekasi
The Bekasi regency administration is committed to solving the problem by collecting information from residents to find the perpetrators, as well as earmarking funds to expand an existing final garbage disposal site.
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Causing unrest: Piles of garbage are seen along the Kali Cikarang Bekasi Laut River in Muara Bakti village, Babelan district, Bekasi regency, West Java. Villagers said the smell reached their residences approximately a kilometer away. (Kompas.com/Achmad Nasrudin Yahya)
T
he piles of garbage the size of a soccer field close to Muara Bakti village, Babelan district, Bekasi regency, West Java, have caused unrest among nearby residents.
The 200-meter-long wasteland is a former excavation site about 5 m deep along the Kali Cikarang Bekasi Laut River.
According to nearby villagers, the smell reached their residences approximately a kilometer away. A villager named Agus Cina, 52, expressed his surprise at seeing the garbage pile not far from his usual fishing spot.
“It’s been more than a week Pak, [the pile] didn’t exist [before], someone must have thrown [garbage] here,” Agus told kompas.com on Thursday.
“It’s smelly up to the village. I don’t know [who is throwing the garbage]. If I knew I wouldn’t have [given the permission to throw it here],” Agus added. He also said he had seen trucks entering and leaving the location before.
Agus also asked authorities, including Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, to visit the site and help clean the garbage from the location. “[You] must come [to the location], regent, minister, take a look,” he said.
Separately, acting Bekasi Regent Dedy Supriyadi visited the garbage site in Babelan on Sunday and said that he had instructed the Bekasi Regency Environment Agency to contact responsible parties regarding the garbage pile at the riverbanks.
“Yes, we’re collecting information from the regional administration’s waste technical management unit (UPTD) here, from the district and village and from residents. Later, we will summon the responsible parties for explanation,” Dedy said, as quoted by the Bekasi regency’s official website.
Dedy assured that the Department of Environment (DLH) would soon relocate the garbage to existing garbage disposal sites, including the Kertamukti integrated garbage disposal site in Cibitung district.
“Well, considering the condition of the Burangkeng final disposal site, which is currently under rearrangement and already overloaded, the government will find another place, one of them is the Kertamukti [garbage disposal site] in Cibitung,” Dedy said.
The acting regent said the Bekasi regency administration was committed to solving the waste problem comprehensively. One of the strategies is allocating a budget to expand the Burangkeng site. According to Dedy, the regency has proposed Rp 40 billion (US$2.5 million) for the project.
Dedy also reminded residents to be conscious about environmental hygiene across every community level to improve waste management.
