Garut residents protest Chevron geothermal plant

Residents in Samarang district, Garut regency in West Java blockaded the entrance Tuesday to the 259-MW Darajat geothermal power plant complex operated by PT Chevron Geothermal Indonesia (CGI) asking for more community development funds.

Residents living near the power plant called CGI to provide additional community development funds to compensate for the firm?s exploration and exploitation activities.

The blockade coordinator, Aten Ruhimat, said that residents had conducted protests twice. ?As native residents, we simply see company people exploiting natural resources here and leaving us behind. We, indeed, remain poor,? he said as quoting by Jakarta Post.

Garut Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rusdy Hartono said that the residents had prevented two buses and four cars from carrying some 80 workers from entering the power plant.

Previously Monday, CGI?s Community Affairs manager Iwan Azof said that the company had empowered residents by hiring them to work at the company.

?About 50 percent of our permanent workers are from Garut while all of our contract workers are from Garut,? he said.

He added that CGI had met its community development responsibilities by providing scholarships for some 300 elementary students in Samarang.

Meanwhile, Santi Manuhutu, the Corporate Communications Manager of Chevron Indonesia Business Unit, said that the demonstration did not affect the power plant?s productivity, so that it could meet the power demand of Java, Bali and Madura. (*)