TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) has received 37 complaints on the city’s pollution level. Through their attorney Ayu Eza, the Jakarta residents who reported it claims to have contracted health problems because of the pollution.

“Some said they had to rely on heavy medication to cure their head pains,” said Ayu today, June 11.

Ayu recalled the various lung disease problems experienced by people that were mostly caused by the city’s air impurity such as asthma, lung infections, and regular coughs.

One of the people who complained said the same experience was not felt while living overseas, said Ayu.

She also revealed that the city’s air quality forces its residents to go outdoors during the day since it is much worse in the morning and through the night. Ayu asserted that health problems can be a product of constant exposure to dirty air.

“It cannot be certainly calculated [when symptoms would appear], because the air is progressively and gradually inhaled,” she said.

Responding to the multiple complaints, Ayu said the LBH Jakarta plans to file a lawsuit at the Central Jakarta district court on June 18. The lawsuit is aimed against what they deem responsible for this matter which includes the Environment and Forestry Ministry (KLHK), Health Ministry, Jakarta Provincial Administration, West Java Provincial Administration, and the Banten Provincial Administration.

LANI DIANA WIJAYA