Ulma Haryanto – It's thirsty work for residents in Muara Baru, North Jakarta, who on Sunday said they felt trapped between a city water operator reportedly able to provide them with regular bills but not with water and the local mafia only too willing to sell them illegally acquired water at exorbitant prices.

The operator, PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya [Palyja], and the local government, not keen on confronting the water mafia, found the best way to resolve this "complicated" situation was to ignore the residents.

The mafia hoods were more proactive. Just a week after at least 220 households in Muara Baru declared plans to file a legal class action suit against Palyja after more than six years of public disservice, at least two families in the area were visited by local thugs, who warned them "to stop making a fuss about the hydrants," according to Muhammad Reza Sahib, from the People's Coalition for Water Rights (KruHa).

KruHa is representing the Muara Baru residents' case against PT Palyja and the city government.

"Ibu Sumarti's family and Ibu Komariah's family were visited by thugs. They warned both families not to make trouble," Reza said, adding that KruHa had found that at least 16 hydrants – operated by local thugs – had been illegally installed throughout the subdistrict to siphon off and divert water actually meant for residential pipelines.

Sumarti said on the Sunday that followed the visit from the gangsters, Muara Baru subdistrict chief Dulkadi also told her to not cause problems over the hydrants.

"He said he is concerned conflicts will arise and why not ask Palyja to install a new pipeline. So we approached Palyja and were told that the water company can only offer water tanks. Pak Dulkadi now wants me to accept the water tanks and not mention the hydrants again," Sumarti said.

Sumarti, a mother of five from Muara Baru, said she still manages to sell cosmetics once in a while so she can buy eight jerry cans of water from the local thugs – costing Rp 12,000 ($1.30) – for daily washing, cooking and drinking.

She has been doing this every day for six years, she had said, even while she continued to diligently pay her bills from Palyja. "It's becoming normal for our kids to suffer from diarrhea," Sumarti said.

Meyritha Maryanie, spokeswoman for Palyja, on Sunday seemed more concerned about the local hoods, saying her company would not intervene in the matter of the illegally operated hydrants.

"These people [the mafia] are earning their living from those hydrants. We can't shut those hydrants down as it's complicated and they are going to refuse. We have to approach those operating the hydrants in a different way," Meyritha said, admitting that she knew the hydrant operators were making a handsome profit from the sale of stolen water.

On the proposal for a new pipeline, Meyritha said: "That's also complicated because we first need to acquire approval from the public works department."

Reza told the Jakarta Globe that the people of Muara Baru were at their wits' end because they were still buying water from local thugs by the jerry can, and nothing was being done about the thugs stealing the water and selling it back to the residents who paid the company for it in the first place.

"Both Palyja and the subdistrict head are reluctant to face the hydrant operators, and so Palyja suggested building a new pipeline for the houses," Reza said.

Irzal Djamal, head of the Jakarta's water regulatory body said that during the body's field visit, Palyja always complained they didn't have enough water.

"But now it turns out that this is not the case, they have enough water but they blame the shortfall on the hydrants. As water operators, they have to discipline those rogue hydrant operators," he said.

He was also against the company's suggestion of making new pipelines. "They should evaluate the hydrant ownership to find out if it's solely for residential supply, or for businesses, especially when there are people complaining that they can't get water but are still billed by the company."

According to him, water operators should provide water to their customers 24/7, "when it fails to do so, the customers have the right to sue them. We went there last week so we have complete video footage of the water situation there."