- Title: INDONESIA: Thousands displaced and jobless by mud in East Java, Indonesia
- Date: 30th March 2007
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) SITI MAEMUNAH RECIPIENT SAYING: "The process to get the money is complicated, I hope they will buy our house as soon as possible."
- Embargoed: 14th April 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Indonesia
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVA9C05QOORJ4610SDI5T5FB17RY
- Story Text: Noxious mud oozing from around an oil well since May last year has driven more that 19,000 people from their homes in East Java province.
The torrent following the oil-drilling accident has now swamped an area larger than Monaco, triggering an environmental disaster.
The 16-metre deep flood has inundated five villages, 20 factories, destroyed toll roads, railways, acres of crops and paddy fields in the Sidoarjo - an industrial suburb near Surabaya city on the east of Java island.
Authorities have been struggling to plug the mud flow that emerged from cracks in the ground around the Banjar Panji-1 exploration well, which is operated by Indonesia's Lapindo Brantas, which has a 50 percent share.
Lapindo Brantas, the operator of the well, is indirectly controlled by PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk, partly owned by the Bakrie Group, which is controlled by the family of Indonesia's chief social welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie.
In the latest move to brake the mudflow, scientists have dropped more than 300 clusters of concrete balls linked to steel cables into the mouth of the eruption. The flow has decreased by about 20 percent.
"The efforts to plug the well by dropping hundreds of concrete balls into its source is to decrease the flow to 50 percent from 70 percent," said Rudi Novrianto, spokesman for a government team tasked with handling the disaster.
Until now, Lapindo, which has denied the mud flow is directly linked to the drilling operation, had offered a monthly stipend of 300,000 rupiah to villagers who have lost their houses and rent for new accommodation.
Some victims had asked for compensation of 3.5 million rupiah per square metre for their damaged property and swamped land. Victims complaint over Lapindo that is too slow on handling this problem.
"I want Lapindo to buy our house, not only promises," said Yudi, one of the villager whose house swamped by mud and lost his shrimp farm.
"The process to get the money is complicated, I hope they will buy our house as soon as possible," said Siti Maemunah, after getting her monthly stipend and money for renting a new house.
Lapindo said they need time to manage compensation for thousands of families.
"If people think we are slow, I dont think so. We managed more than 7,000 families, we have to be careful and manage it administratively," said Diaz Roychan, spokesman of the company.
Displaced residents have held several street rallies demanding cash compensation instead of resettlement.
Thousands of people who have not received the money took shelter in a building in a market place.
Scientists remain unsure of what triggered the eruption but agree that it was the result of an extremely complex natural phenomenon and would take years to stop. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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