Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Dozens of local environmental activists of green group Yayasan Peduli Lingkungan (Yapelh) staged a rally in front of a battery factory in Tangerang municipality Tuesday to protest alleged toxic dumping.
The protesters urged consumers to boycott batteries produced at the PT Yuasa factory, which they said dumped toxic waste into the nearby Cisadane river, the main source of fresh water for residents of Tangerang municipality and Tangerang regency.
"We call on the public not to buy all Yuasa products and we ask the Tangerang municipal administration to quickly take stern action against the company," Uyus Setia Bakti, Yapelh executive director, told journalists.
Yuasa security officer Dewan Hadi Setiawan, who said he had been authorized to speak on behalf of the company, denied the allegations.
"We have obtained business and operational permits from the government and therefore we always process the waste at our waste treatment facility before dumping it into the river," Dewan said.
Uyus said that since 2004, laboratory tests had continuously shown that waste discharged from the factory exceeded legal limits, but that the local administration had turned a blind eye to the findings.
He said the company dumped untreated waste, including mercury, into the river, and that the factory's waste-treatment facility was incapable of filtering out all toxins.
Some sections of the Cisadane river, once a popular fishing and recreational attraction, resemble a muddy swamp.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar, who inspected the Cisadane river on a boat earlier this year, said the river was polluted and that cleaning efforts would take up to 20 years.
Natural sedimentation has also decreased the quality of the river's water.
Water suppliers PDAM Tirta Kerta Raharja and PDAM Tirta Benteng, owned by Tangerang regency and Tangerang municipality, respectively, depend on the river for water supply.
PDAM Tirta Kerta Rahardja distributes treated water from the river to Jakartans via a water utility company in the capital.
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