Jakarta Globe, SP/Robertus Wardi, January 25, 2014
Kabanjahe. The government will relocate people who live on the slope of Mount Sinabung away from the volcano and build permanent houses for them, following recent spews of ash that has blanketed the nearby landscape in grey.
A villager pours pesticide from a bucket as Mount Sinabung spews ash at Kebayaken village in Karo district, North Sumatra, on Dec. 4, 2013. (Reuters Photo/Roni Bintang) |
Kabanjahe. The government will relocate people who live on the slope of Mount Sinabung away from the volcano and build permanent houses for them, following recent spews of ash that has blanketed the nearby landscape in grey.
President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who visited residents that had to flee Sinabung’s
eruptions, said residents within a three-kilometer radius of the volcano would
be relocated to a new 25-hectare plot. He said that the government so far
already has 15 hectares of land for the project.
“Once the
land is available, I hope it will be 25 hectares. We can make permanent
residences for around 900 families who live close to the mountain,” said the
president in Kabanjahe, Karo district, North Sumatra on Friday.
Yudhoyono
said that the government shortly will place the victims on a location about
five to seven kilometers from Sinabung.
“We have
sufficient land resources, but the location is far from their current
residences. If we relocate them far away, it would be difficult to get them to
relocate. We plan to relocate them just slightly farther from their original
location,” he said.
“I have
asked the BNPB [National Disaster Mitigation Agency], provincial and district
administrations to provide the rest,” the president added.
Incentives
Yudhoyono
also said the government will establish a budget to overcome the impacts of
Sinabung’s eruptions and appointed BNPB chairman Syamsul Ma’arif to lead the
mitigation process.
“The budget
we will roll out is not small, that’s why it has to be right on target,
well-managed and prevent whatever we don’t want from happening. Hundreds of
billions [of rupiah] will be rolled out to overcome the impacts of the Mount
Sinabung’s eruptions,” the president said.
Aside from
providing homes in a safer location, the government will also provide
scholarships at the elementary school to university levels for those students
who study in Medan and outside North Sumatra.
“I have
decided what to do in the short term, in one to two months. Our people who have
been affected by the Sinabung eruptions should not drop out of school,” the
president said, adding that the government will provide health assistance,
scholarships, and will write off interest on bank loans.
There will
also be incentives to the people who lost their jobs because of the eruptions.
“I have
asked the BNPB chief to continue the cash for work program to be continued and
expanded. Every head of the family who is now living in the makeshift tents can
earn the incentive by working,” he said.
The
government, in cooperation with the Financial Service Authority (OJK), has also
arranged for banks to reschedule the debts of people whose farms, plantation
and cattle have been affected by the eruptions.
“Those who
have debts in banks, Bank BRI and Bank Sumut, will have the opportunity to
apply for new loans. Those whose farms and plantations are totally destroyed
will get interest written off,” the president said.
National
disaster
Sinabung’s
victims called on Yudhoyono to declare the volcanic eruptions, which have been
going on for three months, a national disaster.
“If the
president declares it a national disaster, it will bring a positive value for
all of the people who have fled from the eruptions,” said Fari Beru Ginting,
who fled an area affected by the eruptions.
Beru, 50,
said that by declaring it a national disaster, the central government and
provincial administration will be involved to help the disaster victims.
As such, it
will be helpful for the people especially in repairing their houses,
agricultural land and psychological condition, he said.
“Not a
single person who fled the disaster in this area is hoping to benefit from this
disaster. The disaster has forced us to flee our houses for three months. All
of the evacuees are stressed, especially with the fact that our agricultural
lands are totally destroyed by the cold lava flow and the volcanic ash,” Beru
said.
Another
resident living in the makeshift tents, Lisa Beru Tarigan, said that the
president’s visit gave them hope.
She noted
that services for those living in the tents had previously been insufficient,
with surrounding areas in a generally dirty state. Residents faced difficulty
in getting clean water, and the food was not as good as the time when the
president arrived.
“Before the
president arrived, the services here have not been satisfactory. [Just prior to
his arrival] the food has been much better, and the water provided has been
clean and sufficient,” she said.
“The
surrounding areas have been made clean. They even sprayed the area,” Lisa
added.
First Lady
Ani Yudhoyono accompanied the president. She lauded the female refugees at the
Great Mosque shelter in the city for their artistically crafted woven mats,
chopsticks, and rice containers, which are frequently used by the Karo people.
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