Wadas Dam Project Continues: Hundreds Of Police Mobilized for Land Measurement

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Central Java Police spokesperson Commissioner Iqbal Alqudusy, said that 250 police personnel has been mobilized to guard the land measurement process at the village of Wadas. 

The land measurement is conducted as part of the government's program to establish a mining site to supply materials for the Bener Dam construction project.

The land survey that has been ongoing since Tuesday, 8 February 2022, is done by a team from the National Land Agency (BPN). Police claimed that the majority of the land plots that will be converted to a mining site have been measured. 

"Out of hundreds of land plots, there only remains 50 that have not been measured which consists of 15 percent of the entire area. Looking at the progress we've made, it will be completed by the end of the day," Iqbal stated in a written statement on Thursday, February 10, 2022.

Iqbal explained that in addition to guarding the measurement process, Police personnel in the area have also been tasked to distribute packages of staple needs for local villagers. 

Previously on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, tensions were high between villagers opposing the mining project and hundreds of police members that surrounded the village. Reports suggest 64 locals were briefly detained by the police before being released hours after. Ten of the detainees were children.

In response to the public outcry, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo made a public apology and took full responsibility for the clash between Wadas villagers and police members.

JAMAL A NASHR