Bulungan Bulungan Bridge, Kaltara Almost Collapsed

TANJUNG SELOR Bridge connecting the Transmigration area in Sepunggur Village in Tanjung Palas Tengah District, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan (Kaltara) is in poor condition.

The bridge, which is the access for transmigration residents, almost collapsed. Ironically, until now it has not received attention from the local government.

This was revealed by Aris, a resident of Sepunggur who claimed to have long proposed the repair to the Bulungan district government (Pemkab).

"We have proposed improvements before, but they have not been realized, the reason is that the district government does not yet have a budget," he said, Tuesday, September 5.

Padahal jembatan itu menjadi satu-satunya penghubung akses jalan desa. Masyarakat tidak memiliki pilihan lain untuk tetap melintas jembatan yang rusak parah tersebut.

"This bridge is the main access to the city of Tanjung Selor, the capital of Kaltara. Residents who want to sell agricultural products are forced to cross the damaged bridge," he said.

According to him, using river access will cost more operational costs.

"For the sake of our families, our children and wives are forced to survive. Even though the condition of the bridge is very worrying," he said.

Warga, sambung Aris, berharap kepada pemerintah untuk segera memperbaiki jembatan tersebut.

"It's a pity that the residents of Sepunggur village, if the bridge is not immediately repaired, don't let any residents become victims," he said.

The poor condition of village infrastructure which is minimal also has an impact on the economy of transmigration residents. Many residents have difficulty selling their agricultural products.

"If the infrastructure is adequate, it is certain that the welfare of the community will also be much better," he added.

The bad situation in infrastructure has made transmigration residents who choose to change professions, such as becoming construction workers.

"There are transmigration residents who choose to return to their hometowns. We came here (Sepunggur) to improve the economy. However, with conditions like now it is difficult for us to survive," he explained.

The same thing was conveyed, Wahyudi. According to him, many problems have not been resolved in the transmigration area.

Currently, it is not uncommon for settlements to agricultural land for residents to be submerged when the river is high.

"If there are many large tides, many people's plants will die, so many residents will fail to penan," said Wahyudi.

Residents hope that there will be attention from the government regarding infrastructure in the Transmigration village area.

"It's a pity that we transmigration residents are not cared for," he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Bulungan Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency (DPU-PR), Khairul, did not provide an answer when asked for confirmation.