A number of villagers in Celukan Bawan, Gerokgak, Buleleng in North Bali went to the Buleleng Environmental Agency’s office on Tuesday to air their grievances about what they believe to be a major health concern.
The subject of their complaints: the Celukan Bawang steam power plant waste disposal site is super close to a residential area.
It’s just two meters to the nearest house, according to Tribun Bali.
Local resident Ketut Mangku Wijana says the waste disposal site is bad for the people who live in the vicinity and pollution must affect the health of residents. He says there are 28 families who are complaining about this very waste disposal site, which has two types of waste dumped there: wastewater and solid waste.
“The health impact is phenomenal. Respiratory problems have started, shortness of breath and coughing. Moreover, there are a lot of kids here,” Wijana told Tribun.
Wijana claims to have often complained of the matter directly to the Celukan Bawang plant, but he hasn’t gotten any response until now.
When the residents arrived at the Buleleng Environmental Agency’s office on Tuesday, the agency’s secretary, I Wayan Nadiarta, told the residents that they need to file a formal complaint in writing which will be followed up. Of course he did.
Nadiarta says once his office gets the written complaint, the agency will send a team to the location to check things out.
Putu Singyen of General Affairs of General Energy Bali (GEB) said that as investors managing the power plant, the waste disposal is still provisional and not fully operational and even admitted the site still doesn’t have a permit from Buleleng regency, according to Tribun.
But he also added that at this point it is not possible to move the location of the disposal site elsewhere, and if there’s a health problem as a result of the waste, then they would give compensation, Tribun reports.
This is not a new issue for the Celukan Bawang community as residents even voiced their frustration as early as this May about the waste disposal site.
Photo of sewage sludge: Illustration
