Dutch Tangsi in Siak Collapsed, the Regency Government Complains that There is No Budget for Repairs

JAKARTA - The Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports Office (Disbudparpora) of Siak Regency, Riau Province, admitted that there was no budget for repairing the Dutch Tangsi building, whose second floor collapsed and caused dozens of people to be injured.

The Head of the Siak Regency Disbudparpora, Syafrizal, said that so far his party has only carried out minor maintenance, which is not rehabilitation, since it was handed over to the Ministry of Public Works in 2020.

"If the repair has never been. Yes, only minor maintenance such as painting the walls. If it comes to heavy maintenance that changes the structure of the construction, there is none," he said in Siak, Monday, quoted by Antara.

According to him, for heavy maintenance activities, it is necessary to coordinate with the PU Office and the Cultural Heritage Expert Team (TACB) which has the authority to analyze the feasibility of the construction of the cultural heritage. Later there will be a recommendation from the TACB proposed together with the PU office.

It is known that the collapse of the second floor stairs of the Dutch Tangsi took the lives of dozens of students of the SDIT Baitul Ridho District of Lubukdalam during a study tour. Some of them suffered serious injuries due to the collapse of the wood.

Syafrizal said that after the incident, his party had immediately descended with TACB and the PU Office to take steps related to the maintenance of the Dutch Tangsi.

His party is reviewing whether it is feasible or not to submit a kind of rehabilitation assistance proposal.

The Siak Regency Government, he continued, closed all tourist destinations that have a second floor for tourists to visit until an undetermined time.

However, visitors are still allowed to enter the tourist destination on the other floor only.

"Yes, the Regent's appeal is that all tourist attractions that have a second floor are temporarily closed, whether it is in Tangsi Belanda, Istana Siak and the Balai Kerapatan Adat. But the other floor can still be visited," he said.