Tower constructions sealed over permits

TANGERANG: Public order officers sealed Tuesday a communication tower construction site in Teluk Naga district, Tangerang regency, which was being built without the required permits from the local administration.

Ferry Zulfian, a public order official, said the administration had given written and verbal warnings to the tower's management, PT Karunia Berca Indonesia, in Cikini, Central Jakarta, about the absence of the required permits.

"For such construction, the management must possess an environmental disturbance permit from the communication agency as well as a business and building permit from the settlement agency," he said.

Zulfian said the recommended maximum height for such a tower was 42 meters. However, Karunia's tower stood at 52 meters.

"We will also seal dozens of similar towers that have been erected across the regency without required permits," he said.

More than a dozen men working at the site stood by and watched when officers arrived and sealed the site.

Buchori, one of the workers, said they had begun working at the 10 by 12 meter tower site last month and had almost finished construction.

Muhamad H.P, a local figure, said the tower's management did not tell locals about any safety measures they had taken.

"The tower's management handed Rp 100,000 in cash to each of the 40 families living nearby," he said. Multa/JP

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