TEMPO.CO, Batam - Dozens of residents of Panau old village, Kabil District, Batam City held a demonstration in front of PT Blue Steel Industrial Park on Thursday, November 30, protesting against the illegal reclamation project in the sea, which is their source of livelihood.

Today’s protest was the second, but the project continues. They estimated that the project had been going on for approximately a year.

During the first protest, the company and the police agreed to hold a follow-up meeting on Nov. 6, as claimed by Ferry, the company’s representative. However, Ferry refused to be interviewed.

Reclamation of the old coastal village

Tempo observed that the seawater along the coast of the old village was murky. "When we go fishing with nets, our nets come out full of mud," said Anton, one of the local fishermen.

The beach used to be a fishing ground. Recently, however, it became the target of reclamation by the Austrian company PT Blue Steel Industrial.

Another resident named Azmi said that the majority of the residents are fishermen, and there are at least 177 heads of families with about 600 people residing in the old village.

Another resident named M. Hasan Deni seconded Azmi’s statement. According to him, fishermen could earn Rp4-5 million per month from fishing. “But now they are seeking other jobs, such as being construction workers and online taxi drivers,” he said.

Hasan stressed that he and other residents would continue to fight to stop the reclamation, saying it threatened their livelihoods. “I'm upset, where are the city and provincial governments, why isn't anyone monitoring this, which is clearly damaging [the area]? Yesterday, [the reclamation project area] was sealed by the KKP, but now the seal has been broken.” Hasan said.

He said the related company also refused to show their reclamation permit and the environmental impact assessment (Amdal) in the Panau old village. “I can say that this is a fake company as there is no permit, and they just launch reclamation,” he said.

YOGI EKA SAHPUTRA

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