S. Sumatra villagers blockade PTBA?s dike project

South Sumatra villagers have blockaded a site where state coal miner PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) had begun to build a dike to prevent landslides in its mining area, local daily Sriwijaya Post reported on Wednesday.

Dozens of people from Karangraja village in Muara Enim Regency on Monday came to the dike site and build a makeshift guard post.

The villagers said that they owned the 40-hectare land where the dike was located, and that PTBA had used the land without their permission.

They said that PTBA had in 1982 forced them to sell their farmland in another part of their village to it at low prices. The company used the land as its tailing dumping site.

PTBA owns a huge coal mining concession in Muara Enim, and also owns a concession in West Sumatra. It produced 10.2 million tons of coal in 2001.

The central government has planned to divest PTBA shares through an initial public offering (IPO) in the local burses this month. (*)