Coal firm faulted for causing flood
Thursday, April 4 2002 - 02:42 AM WIB
The Kutai Kertanegara office of the Bapedalda environmental watchdog in East Kalimantan has faulted coal mining firm PT Multi Harapan Utama (MHU) for causing flood in paddy fields in Jonggon area.
Head of Bapedalda Rini Budi Sayekti was quoted by the local Kaltim Post daily Wednesday as saying that MHU had blocked the local river to allow its coal trucks to pass through. This has disrupted the flow of the water and caused flood to the local paddy fields.
Villagers have demanded MHU to pay compensation.
Rini said that MHU must set up a bridge over the river to allow its trucks pass through without disrupting the flow of the water underneath.
The paper did not provide details of the compensation demanded by the villagers.(*)