TEMPO.CO, Cikarang - Residents of Kampung Kobak Rante, Karang Reja Village of Pebayuran, voiced complaints over illegal landfill or TPS near their residential areas and urged the Bekasi regency government to permanently close the waste disposal site.

A resident named Asfullah claimed the community did not know that a landfill would be opened in the area. Before being used as a garbage dump, the location was a rice field area located between residential settlements.

“When the rice field was cleared, I thought it was for a factory, but instead it became a landfill,” said the 38-year-old man as quoted from Antara on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

Other residents of Kobak Rante Village had also complained to the village officials about the illegal site. However, their complaints were not followed up to date, while the volume of waste kept increasing.

“We have often complained to the village but there has been no response. We hope that the landfill will be permanently closed,” Asfullah underlined.

According to a resident named Rina, the illegal landfill has been operating for five years. The 49-year-old woman said there was no official notification or request for permission to the local residents before the landfill started operating.

Rina emphasized that the illegal landfill has caused bad impacts on the health of local residents and polluted the environment. Tens of hectares of rice fields, she added, failed to harvest. Rina said the villagers hoped that the Bekasi government would immediately follow up on their complaints.

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ANTARA