Jakarta – Several environmental activists grouped under the name OKP Ganespa from South Tangerang sealed the construction site of a toll road connecting Serpong and Cinere on Thursday, claiming it is damaging a lake area nearby.
Through a banner hung from scaffolding at the project at Sasak Tinggi lakeside in Pamulang, they demanded PT Cinere Serpong Jaya (CSJ) stop its construction work there. The activists accused the company of damaging the environment around the lake area.
OKP Ganespa coordinator Hafids Fidon said the action was taken as a follow-up to a similar protest they held on March 22 in front of South Tangerang City Hall in Ciputat.
"This is our fifth protest. On behalf of the residents around the lake, we're demanding PT CSJ stop its project," he said as reported by wartakota.tribunnews.com on Thursday.
Meanwhile, PT CSJ executive M. Irsan Setiabudi claimed that the company had all the requirements for the project. "We've got the environmental impact analysis [Amdal] as well as being in line with South Tangerang's spatial master plan [RTRW]," he said.
Irsan has yet to decide whether to halt or continue the construction project. "We'll let [the activists] calm down first, we can't decide on it right away," he added. (vla)