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Students tell govt to stop turning blind eye to Lake Toba polluters
“Why would tourists come to Lake Toba if the water is polluted?,” said GMKI Medan chairman Hendra Manuring during the rally.
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Members of the Medan Indonesian Christian University Students Movement (GMKI) hold a street rally in Medan, North Sumatra, on July 26 to call on the local government to revoke the business permit of alleged Lake Toba polluters. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
M
embers of the Indonesian Christian University Students Movement (GMKI) in Medan, North Sumatra, staged a rally in front of the governor’s office over the weekend to demand the revocation of business permits of all alleged Lake Toba polluters.
The rally came days before President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s visit to Lake Toba on Monday. The President wanted to see the progress of various tourism projects, including those funded by the state budget.
GMKI Medan chairman Hendra Manurung said the environment of Lake Toba was a very concerning issue, as the water quality had continued to degrade due to waste from floating fish cages and from the manufacturing industry near the lake.
He said the environmental state of Lake Toba was not in line with its promotion as a major tourist destination.
“Why would tourists come to Lake Toba if the water is polluted?,” said Hendra at the rally. He accused PT Aquafarm Nusantara, PT Allegrindo, PT JAPFA and PT Toba Pulp Lestari of polluting the lake.
He also called on Jokowi to review Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 49/2016 on the Lake Toba Authority (BPODT), which he said was not performing its function as it had failed to resolve several disputes.
He said that after Lake Toba began to be promoted as a major destination, the government had spoken of the urgent need to remove floating fish cages from the lake. However, Hendra said these calls had not been followed by action in the field, as fish cages remained and continued to pollute the lake, with no stern action taken against the polluters.
