TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Shiite refugees from Sampang - which has been temporarily housed in Puspa Agro Housing Complex in Sidoarjo, East Java - have been facing a severe water shortage for the past four days. The shortage is caused by a faulty water pump which supplies the upper floors of the housing complex with running water.
"Since last Friday, water have not been flowing into their units," said the leader of the Sampang Shiite refugees, Iklil al-Milal on Monday, August 17, 2015.
As a result of the malfunctioning water pipe, residents have had to go up and down the apartment block - which is five storeys high - to get water for their daily needs.
East Java's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), which oversees the welfare of the refugees, admits that there is a water shortage in the housing complex. "We've started fixing the unit - all we have to do is to wait until we are sure that we can operate the pump safely," said an East Java BPBD official, Irfan Setyanudin.
Irfan said that since the unit broke last Friday, BPBD has installed an auxiliary pump - but the pressure is not enough to reach the upper floors of the units. "Unfortunately, this means that upper floor residents have to go downstairs to get water," he said.
It is known that there are 320 Shiite refugees from 74 families that are temporarily housed in Puspa Agro. These residents have been living in this temporary shelter since June 20, 2013. Previously, they lived in Sampang Sports Arena for nine months.
These refugees were displaced after a conflict broke out between Shiite and Sunni sects in Sampang after 2012 Eid al-Fitr holiday, when hundreds of Sunni followers ransacked scores of houses belonging to Shiite followers in Bluuran and Nangkernang - killing one in the process.
NUR HADI
