President Jokowi Asked To Go Down To Handle Gas Pipe Leaks In Madina

President Joko Widodo (Antara)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the DPR RI, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, asked the Government to immediately deal with the problem of PT SMGP gas pipeline leakage in Mandailing Natal (Madina) district, North Sumatra (Sumut). The reason is, the incident has harmed and endangered local residents. Where, there were dozens of victims who were hospitalized due to inhaling toxic gas from a leaking pipe.

"The safety of the community must be the top priority. They do not understand what PT SMGP is doing. But if someone is poisoned, they will panic," Saleh told reporters, Monday, April 25.

The PAN legislator from the North Sumatra electoral district said that gas pipe leaks had occurred several times. However, said Saleh, the parties concerned did not seem to have learned from previous incidents, so similar incidents kept repeating themselves.

"There was a leak in the past. I had a chance to visit there. Get in touch and see the condition of the community. The pipes that carry gas from geothermal energy there are very large. Imagine if it leaked. It would endanger the lives and safety of the residents," he said. . "Residents living in the vicinity of Sorik Merapi must be worried. They are traumatized and scared all the time. Of course, the psychological loss cannot be paid for in anything," continued Saleh.

Therefore, Saleh considered, the government should have evaluated, monitored, and audited the performance of PT SMGP. Don't expect to get renewable energy, the government forgets about the safety of the citizens. Energy, said Saleh, is of course very important but the comfort and tranquility of the community is much more important. Therefore, he asked President Jokowi to intervene in handling this incident.

"Given the importance of this, I request that President Jokowi intervene. In other areas, the president often intervenes as well. I am sure that the president will definitely pay attention and resolve this issue," said the chairman of the PAN faction in the DPR. "Besides, if something goes wrong, PT SMGP is closed first. If everything is declared safe, then we will think about the continuation. Don't rush to get your investment back and make a profit. Once again, the safety of the people must be above all," concluded Saleh. . Previously, the National Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM) reported that there had been an explosion of hot mud as high as more than 30 meters accompanied by a pungent gas smell at PT SMGP's geothermal drilling rig located in Sibanggor Julu Village, Mandailing Natal, North Sumatra, Sunday, April 24. . This incident resulted in 21 residents had to be rushed to the hospital.

"When the explosion occurred, residents began to smell a new sting, then nausea, vomiting and fainting. Now the hot mud is starting to flow into the residents' rice fields," JATAM Nasional tweeted on the Twitter account @jatamnas.