Exactly A Week Hit By Landslides, The Trans Island Road Of Timor NTT Still Cannot Be Accessed By Logistics Vehicles

Trans-Jalan Pulau Timor di Kupang, NTT, setelah terjadinya longsor. (dok. Kementerian PUPR)

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Police Chief Inspector General Johanis Asadoma said logistics vehicles have not been able to pass on alternative routes around landslide-affected areas in Noelmina Village, Takari District, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Johanis said the Kupang-South Central Timor (TTS) route on the Trans Pulau Timor Road is still being handled.

"The construction of an alternative one-kilometer-long route is being carried out and until yesterday when I reviewed it it, it was already 250 meters directly," he said at the Oeba Fish Landing Site (TPI), Kupang, NTT, Friday, February 24, as reported by Antara,

Earlier on Friday, February 17, a landslide as high as 20 meters with a length of 300 meters occurred in Noelmina Village, Takari District, Kupang Regency. As a result, the Trans Island Timor road access is closed.

The Kupang route to and from South Central Timor Regency (TTS), North Central Timor Regency (TTU), Malacca Regency, Belu Regency, and even Timor Leste countries were cut off.

The landslide also resulted in the supply of logistics such as basic necessities to four districts on the island of Timor being stopped. Including the cessation of imports of raw materials from NTT to Timor Leste.

The NTT Police Chief said that the road evacuation process was carried out by the National Road Implementation Center (NPJN) X and the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Office of Kupang Regency.

"They worked hard, it was proven that the process was quite fast with an alternative road width of eight meters," he said.

The Regional Police Chief said that currently, alternative routes passing through landslide materials are opened, but the open system is an open and close system. However, logistics vehicles have not been able to pass.

"Currently the opening of the lane is an open-close system. Half an hour from Kupang to So'e and vice versa. This is because the location of the alternative route is still very vulnerable and can only be passed by four-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles," he said.