Large Gas Explosion Kills Two, Injures Six in North Jakarta

Jakarta Globe | August 24, 2010

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Jakarta. Two people were blown apart and another six injured in a large explosion at an acetylene gas distribution shop in North Jakarta on Tuesday.

The injured were rushed to hospital as police began the gruesome task of sifting through the destruction and body parts, some of which had been blown on to the rooftops of neighboring homes on Jalan Raya Mindi in Koja.

Twelve homes, three cars and a motorcycle were also damaged.

North Jakarta Police chief of detectives Comr. Susatyo Purnomo said the number of deaths could increase.

“So far, we only know that two died and six were wounded,” Susatyo told Tempointeraktif.com.

Police evacuated and sealed the area.

Anto Sukarta, a resident, said he thought the explosion was a bomb.

“We thought it was a bomb because it was so loud,” he said.

According to state new agency Antara, locals had been protesting against the location of the shop for a year.

The premises, in a residential area, was formerly a home but had been rented out to the business and converted into a shop.

Fatal blast: A severely damaged house is seen after an explosion at a welding gas refill center on Jl. Mindi in Lagoa subdistrict of Koja, North Jakarta, on Tuesday. The blast claimed two lives and injured three. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

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Groundwater rates to increase ten-fold

Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Fri, 08/20/2010 11:33 AM

The provincial administration is looking to impose new rates on access to groundwater starting next year, two times more than the current tax, drawing criticism from hotel operators.

“The increase will be applied in 2011. There will be no more delay,” Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said Thursday.

He brushed aside demands from businesses to postpone the rate hike.

The administration imposed a 500 percent hike on the tax this year.

Pastika said increased groundwater tax was in accordance with the 2009 gubernatorial regulation.

He ruled out any possible delay, saying hotel operators already enjoyed high profits.

“If they deem the rate rise too high, they can increase their room rates.”

He lambasted hotel operators for demanding cheaper water rates, citing Bali’s clean water crisis.

“Out of around 400 rivers in Bali, half are already dry, while hotels use clean water just to splash their gardens and golf courses,” he said.

The revenue from the rate rise will be used to provide clean water for several drought-stricken areas, including Karangasem and Nusa Penida.

“People in Karangasem and Nusa Penida find it difficult to get clean water. It’s a shame that hotels exploit water for their gardens,” the governor said, stressing that hotels should manage their own water consumption.

“They should use water recycled from bathrooms and kitchens to maintain their gardens.”

During a meeting with the provincial council earlier this week, a number of tourist operators have urged council members to issue recommendations to the governor, asking for the new tax to be postponed.

“Groundwater taxes hurt hotels. We hope the governor can delay the implementation of the new rate hike,” said hotelier Bagus Sudibya.

Data from the provincial administration showed that groundwater tax revenue has increased, with the biggest portion paid by residents in Denpasar, who paid Rp 8.01 billion.

Negligence leads to Bintaro dike collapse

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 08/20/2010 11:12 AM

The government’s failure to quickly respond to residents’ complaints about the poor condition of the Pesanggrahan River dike in Bintaro, South Jakarta, has contributed to the collapse of the dike.

“Last year, we asked the South Jakarta Public Works Subagency to rebuild the dike, but it only patched the leakages at the dike wall,” head of a community unit in Pesanggrahan subdistrict Joko Tursino told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

“The dike is very unstable now, the wall near our houses shakes sometimes, we worry it will collapse again as heavy rain could hit at anytime,” he said.

A part of the dike collapsed Tuesday, causing 3-meter-high floods to hit thousands of people in two community units, including those living in the Civil Servant Cooperative Union (IKPN) housing complex.

Joko said that in his community unit, more than one thousand people were hit by the flood. Kumala Siregar, head of another community unit in IKPN complex, said that it affected about 900 people in his neighborhood. The area is known to be hit by floods at least once a year.

The most recent one, however, was much worse as a 23-meter part of the dike’s 450-meter wall, known by locals as the Madrasah dike, collapsed. This was not the first time the dike wall collapsed.

Previously about 7-meters fell following the burst of Situ Gintung Dam in Cireundeu, Tangerang, which killed one hundred people, on March 27, 2009.

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said Wednesday during his visit to the location together with city Governor Fauzi Bowo, that the government would repair the damaged part soon before a new dike was built. However, community unit head Joko said the government should immediately rebuild the whole dike. “If there is no large-scale upgrading, I’m afraid that another part of the dike will collapse sooner or later,” he said, adding that parts of the dam that burst were only held by sacks of sand.

A water pump keeper at Madrasah dike, Komaruddin, said that once every two or three months the dike leaked. “The public works agency is quite fast in responding to the report [of any leakage]. However, the dam itself is old, it was build in the 1980s and it needs more than patching,” he said.

Komaruddin said that the dam was weak because it was made of river stones, instead of stronger material such as what formed the 400-meter IKPN dike, located next to Madrasah dike.

South Jakarta Public Works Agency acting chairman Yayat told the Post he admitted the dam was old and there had not been any large scale upgrading since then. However, he said the government would soon repair the collapsed part of the dike, conduct 2-kilometer river dredging activities and rebuild the whole dike. Even though the Madrasah dike would be repaired, residents were still concerned.

“It never entered my mind that the dike could collapse like this. At first I thought it was a tsunami,” Darsitin, 54, a victim, said.

He said he and other residents had become used to the dike’s leakages, but did not think it would collapse. Darsitin, who lives next to the dike wall, said there was seepage every time the water level was high.

Another victim, Tati Suprianti, was forced to stay at a mosque because her house was full of litter and mud. “I’m going to move from this place soon because I’m afraid another flood will hit again,” she said. (not)

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‘Super-Extreme’ Weather Is the Worst on Record

Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman, August 19, 2010

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Jakarta. Indonesia has been experiencing its most extreme weather conditions in recorded history, meteorologists warned on Wednesday as torrential rains continued to pound the capital.

Motorbikes splash through deep puddles of water
after heavy rains lashed the Semanggi area
of Jakarta on Wednesday. JG Photo/Safir Makki

All regions across the archipelago have been experiencing abnormal and often catastrophic weather, an official from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.

“We have reached a super-extreme level of weather this year, the first time in our history, and this is much worse than what we experienced back in 1998, when theLa Nina caused extreme weather in the country,” Edvin Aldrian warned.

Edvin, who leads the climate change and air quality division at the agency, told the Jakarta Globe that a combination of a heating planet and the La Nina climate cycle were behind the unseasonable downpours.

“The combination of global warming and the La Nina phenomenon makes everything exceed normalcy,” he said, adding that global warming causes higher temperature in sea waters, and La Nina boosts humidity and the likeliness of rains.

Sea temperatures, Edvin said, were also at a level considered normal for Indonesia’s rainy season, not for the dry season. “It is about 28 to 29[degrees] Celsius now. Normally, for August it should have been around 24 to 26 degrees.”

Generally at this time of year, Indonesia is supposed to be in the midst of the dry season and entering the transition to wetter months.

“Inconditions like this, tornadoes are likely to occur,” Edvin warned.

“It can happen in any region in the country, starting from the western part ofIndonesia to the east.”

He also said the extreme conditions were causing high waves, posing a threat to ships in Indonesian waters. “At the least, the waves will reach 3.5 meters and can reach up to more than five meters. And strong winds can make the waves even higher.

“The Southern part of Sumatra and Java are the most affected areas so far,” he said. “This condition is forecast to start to reach the eastern part of Indonesia within one to two weeks.”

Based on a BMKG forecast, the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, West Java, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Maluku,

West Papua and Papua would see prolonged high rains, with more than 400 millimeters falling from now through October. More than 100 mm of rain is categorized as high intensity.

The rest of the country is expected to begin entering the rainy season again in November.

The extreme weather has already affected the country’s agricultural output, especially in Java where there are many farms, said Winny Dian Wibawa, the Agriculture Ministry’s director for horticulture.

“Crops like melon, mango and mushrooms are experiencing delayed harvests.

“It puts the farmers at a disadvantage as they now cannot produce many good quality crops,” he said, adding that the excess rains made fruit softer and less sweet.

Izzul Waro, an analyst from the Transportation Study Institute (Instran), told the Globe that the extreme weather would also cause headaches for commuters and truckers, especially in big cities like Jakarta.

“The conditions become worse because the drainage system in the city’s roads is bad. Puddles of water will occur with just a bit of rain,” he said, adding that traffic would only worsen during the extended rainy season.

The capital has seen heavy downpours in the past two days, causing deep inundations and burst river banks. On Tuesday, at least five neighborhoods in South Jakarta reported flooding.

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8 injured as truck carrying firecrackers explodes

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 08/10/2010 4:58 PM | Jakarta

A small truck carrying firecrackers exploded in the Pluit business warehouse complex near the Jakarta Outer Ring Road in Kamal, North Jakarta, on Tuesday, injuring eight people.

First Brig. Seno of the Jakarta Police Traffic Management Center told kompas.com that the victims had suffered burns and had been admitted to Cengkareng Hospital, Pluit Hospital and Buddha Tzu Chi Hospital.

The police had not identified the victims.

Witnesses said the firecrackers were about to be detonated as they had expired.

Jakarta Globe Wins Major Asian Award for Journalism

Jakarta Globe | August 05, 2010

Jakarta. The Jakarta Globe on Wednesday night won another award for journalistic excellence, this one for a special supplement highlighting the many water problems facing the capital.

“Water Worries,” published in July 2009, picked up a bronze award for best news coverage (newspaper special section) at the Asia Media Awards, held in Kuala Lumpur. The awards are run by prestigious industry group the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

The special supplement — containing stories written by Dewi Kurniawati, Globe contributing editor Joe Cochrane, investigative writers Hera Diani and Kafil Yamin and news reporter Putri Prameshwari — outlined Jakarta’s troubles in dealing with water-related issues, including ensuring steady supply, dealing with sewage and garbage cast into rivers and canals, and flooding caused by rainfall and coastal tides.

The award is the latest of more than a dozen reporting, photography and design accolades for the paper this year. At the Society of Publishers in Asia Awards for Editorial Excellence in June, “Water Worries” received another award for excellence in special coverage.

“All these recognitions serve to inspire the entire news organization to work harder at providing our readers with first-rate journalism, the kind of reporting that we hope makes a difference,” Globe deputy chief editor Bhimanto Suwastoyo said.

The gold in the Asian Media Awards special section category went to the United Arab Emirates newspaper Gulf News for coverage of boxer Manny Pacquiao.

WAN-IFRA is a worldwide organization that supports newspapers in pushing for the defence of press freedoms, high standards of journalism and best practices in publishing technology. The Asia Media Awards also recognize the region’s best newspaper and magazine front cover designs, photography and printing quality.

“Water Worries” is one in a series of four special reports on Jakarta’s social and infrastructure challenges that the Globe has published. The others cover preserving Kota Tua in North Jakarta, traffic woes and environmental sustainability. You can download them HERE.

Groundwater exploitation must be controlled: Expert

Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Wed, 08/04/2010 10:37 AM | Bali

The local administration office must strictly regulate groundwater management in order to curb excessive exploitation by hotels and industries, an expert says.

Sudirman, Environmental Management Center of Bali and Nusa Tenggara region head, said excessive exploitation of groundwater could lead to devastating environmental impacts. He criticized the regulation, saying at present the administration had only issued a letter advising industries to limit their groundwater consumption.

"This action is too weak. It has no legal grounds. The local authority needs to issue a bylaw on the exploitation of ground water," Sudirman said.

The exploitation of groundwater is deemed massive, exceeding storage capacity. Due to limited clean water supplies delivered by the province's water company, many hotel and tourist-related establishments turn to artesian wells to meet their water supply needs.

"The use of groundwater in many hotels has already gone beyond the capacity of the island's water storage," he said.

Bali has more than 15,000 hotel rooms including villas, newly built apartments and commercial lodging houses.

"Such excessive exploitation has threatened clean water supplies for domestic households. But, more importantly, such activities will damage the environment," added Sudirman.

Based on a survey by the Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali experienced a water deficit of 1.5 billion cubic meters in 1995. Five years later in 2000, the water deficit reached 7.5 billion cubic meters.

By 2015, Bali is expected to face a dramatic water deficit of 27.6 billion cubic meters.

To reduce ground water usage among hotels, the center has established joint work with the Bali Hotel Association.

The two institutions control and monitor groundwater usage by 18 star-rated hotels in South Badung, Denpasar and Ubud in Gianyar.

The Center also involved 10 star-rated hotels in West Nusa Tenggara province. Water usage in participating hotels would be closely monitored in terms of the amount of real water used for bathing and other activities.

"We have to match the water amount allowed in their operation permits with the real consumption of water every day," he added.

Many hotels violated the water usage permits by digging and using more groundwater to meet their increasing demands.

Monitoring activities will also include water treatment plants and waste treatment, and monitoring hotels' roles in improving their local communities and environment.

Bali Legislator Says Island of the Gods Is Being Overrun by Property Sharks

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana& Antara, August 02, 2010

Denpasar. Bali’s booming property market is being overrun by rogue developers who are forging land titles in order to stake bogus claims to high-yield land investments, a prominent local legislator said on Monday.

“These people are cashing in on Bali being a famous island that holds strategic future value,” Made Arjaya said.

He said that of greater concern for Bali’s burgeoning property market was that those involved in illegal practices were being awarded land ownership through the courts, raising more questions about the country’s endemically corrupt and embattled judiciary.

Arjaya, a former official for provincially held assets and a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), called on the police to investigate the land disputes and shine a light on the organized groups that he said were behind the land grabs.

The legislator said he became aware of the frauds through lawyer HK Kosasih, who also represents Bali property developer Edy Sukaton Saputra.

In January 1996, Margasrikaton Dwi Pratama, a company that Edy served on as a director, won an auction for a parcel of state-owned land. The auction was organized and conducted by the National Land Agency (BPN).

Margasrikaton was awarded a contract and title deed to develop a 230,450-square-meter lot in Badung district’s Ungasan village. But that is where the good times ended for the company.

Shortly after being handed the title, another group, led by Bali native I Wayan Tama, claimed it was in possession of the authentic land titles, despite the BPN running an auction for land that was clearly state-owned.

The wrangling continued up until November 2005, when the Supreme Court in Jakarta ruled in favor of Tama and his associates.

“What makes absolutely no sense is why the Supreme Court approved their claim based on patently falsified documents,” Arjaya said.

He added that a criminal investigation of the case would undoubtedly lead to similar cases being uncovered both in Bali and elsewhere in the country.

The legislator said there were large plots of state land across Bali vulnerable to similar takeovers, including a combined 11 hectares in Pecatu village, Badung, which is the site of a planned tourist resort and is currently embroiled in a dispute between the provincial administration and a local developer.

The Garuda Wisnu Kencana park in South Kuta, the site of a planned commercial and tourist center, has been abandoned due to a similar dispute.

“We risk allowing those two strategic assets to be taken over by rogue investors,” Arjaya said.