Mauk houses rest on quicksand

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Wed, 01/14/2009 3:06 PM

Students inspect land abrasion near a house in Mauk district, Tangerang. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

Residents of Marga Mulia, Tanjung Anom and Karang Serang villages in Mauk district, northern Tangerang, are counting their days by the beach, as coastal erosion eats up their land and puts their houses in danger of collapse.

“Many residents have been forced to move out of their homes as seawater and strong waves wash away their land,” Karang Serang village head Firdaus told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The nearby mangrove forest has been destroyed, leaving residents without a natural wall to protect them from the strong winds and waves speeding up the abrasion.

Tanjung Anom village head M. Ali said the coastal area started to erode in 1985. Tanjung Anom was once a popular recreational destination, but it was later abandoned by investors in 1995.

”Between 1975 and 1995, the place was always packed with visitors. But the number of tourists frequenting the beach plunged.” Ali said.

A similar situation happened in other areas — such as Dadap in Kosambi district, Tanjung Pasir in Teluk Naga district, Cituis in Pakuhaji district and Kronjo village in Kronjo district, all in Tangerang.

Freshwater is another source of anguish for residents.

Every day, every family has to fork out Rp 3,000 for a bucket of freshwater, which can only be used for two days. As for taking showers and washing, residents have to use salty water.

“We badly need sea barriers to protect the land from sea erosion and only the administration can build them,” Sijah, a Tanjung Anom resident, said.

Unfortunately, her complaint has fallen on deaf ears.

In 2003, Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar promised to build a 10-kilometer sea barrier to cushion the damages caused by strong waves along the coastline in Marga Mulya, Tanjung Anom and Karang Serang.

However, no such construction projects have been seen. Furthermore, there is no sign the administration will start any. “This project needs a big budget and we cannot go ahead without financial assistance from the central government,” Ismet said earlier.

At least 70 percent of coastline in Tangerang suffers serious erosion. Every year, sea waves and strong winds eats between 100 and 150 meters of land, undermining the coastline.

Besides the threat from Mother Nature, damage to the environment is also sped up by sand mining conducted by locals.

Rahmat, a fisherman at Karang Serang village, said the skyrocketing price of diesel fuel restrained fishermen from fishing. Many of them have switched to sand mining instead.

Armed with only a bucket, he goes offshore using a traditional bamboo raft. Sporting shorts, and without any diving apparatus, he leaps into the water to rake up sand from seafloor. When the raft is full, he drags it to the shore and sells the raft’s entire contents for Rp 5,000.

The job comes at a price. His hearing and sight deteriorate day by day as a result of the water pressure.

He said he and his fellow divers knew their mining activities would further damage the environment.

“We can’t see any another way to earn money to pay for our families. We are fishermen, but we cannot go fishing because we cannot afford the fuel.”