Muara Enim residents demand compensation from Pertamina

Residents of Sialingan village in Pembantu Lembak district in South Sumatra's regency of Muara Enim have demanded the exploration and production unit of the state owned oil and gas company Pertamina in Prabumulih (UEP Prabumulih) to pay compensation for the damages it had made on their village and farming areas.

Palembang Pos reported on Thursday that the villagers made their demand during a meeting with members of the South Sumatera legislative council in the provincial capital of Palembang on Wednesday.

In the meeting, the villagers threatened to block all the access roads to Pertamina's exploration site near their village if the oil and gas company ignored their demand.

Through their leaders, the villagers demanded Pertamina to pay them Rp 2.225 billion as the compensation for the pollution resulted from the exploration activities. According to the protesters the pollution had severely polluted rivers near their village, causing their rice to droop.

The villagers said that larger part of their rubber trees and other plants have also been dying due to the pollution, which had severely damaged the fertility of the soil. (*)