Vice President Emphasizes Dialogue In Relocation Of Residents Affected By Lewotobi Eruption

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka when distributing toys to children at the Kobasama Refugee Post in Kobasoma Village, Titehena, East Flores (Flotim), East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Thursday. BETWEEN/Gecio Viana

LABUAN BAJO - Vice President (Vice President) Gibran Rakabuming Raka emphasized the importance of dialogue regarding the plan to relocate a number of residents affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki in East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

"The relocation process, which will still have to be surveyed in several places, make sure to determine the new location points for dialogue with residents first," he said during a coordination meeting after visiting the Kobasama Refugee Command Post in Kobasoma Village, Titehena District, as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, November 14.

The Vice President conveyed this in response to the plan of the Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas to conduct a location survey for the relocation of residents affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki.

Vice President Gibran emphasized that dialogue is very necessary so that the infrastructure that will be built can be utilized by the community.

"So don't let it be built later but the place is not occupied, make sure later from regional stakeholders, the governor, the regent, make sure the public facilities (public facilities) are ready," he said.

Gibran also emphasized the ease of administration and bureaucracy to help people affected by natural disasters as soon as possible.

"Ladies and gentlemen, residents who are in refugee camps are already in a difficult situation, the bureaucracy should not be complicated with complicated assessment processes. We want to be fast, we really want to prioritize residents who are in trouble here," he said.

The Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas, Maruarar Sirait, said the survey had been conducted at two location points for the relocation of residents affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki.

The survey, he continued, was conducted comprehensively with local governments, the NTT Provincial Government, the Ministry of Housing and Settlements, the Center for Volcanology for Geological Disaster Mitigation, as well as the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency.

"We received directions from the president and the vice president to use a dialogue pattern, whether the refugees here and their children want to move or not, the answer is that from two points they want to move, the answer is that you want to move, you want to move, you want to move, the reason is because they are traumatized because a few years ago they have experienced the same thing and there have been casualties," he said.

He said the survey results showed the two points had an area of about 50 hectares.

"We also really pay attention to customs, because we also pay attention to them because they have experience with traditional problems here, they are quite sensitive, so we really appreciate traditional issues," he said.

Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Suharyanto said the condition of Mount Lewotobi Male is still an eruption and the public is also aware that they cannot return to their hometowns because they are affected.

Data collection has been carried out and as many as eight villages in the area were affected by the eruption with 2,905 houses.

"Thousands of houses are still being recorded, whether all of them have been relocated or there are independent relocations, the minister has conveyed the two points, of course, this has experience and we have dialogue with which people want to go to that point or they have other points near their families," he said.

Head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Hadi Wijaya assessed that the two locations for the residents' relocation plan were safe from the impact of the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki.

"We participated in a survey in two locations, from the security aspect for the volcano because the distance was 15 kilometers, then the second radius was 10 kilometers so it was still safe within the hazard radius, then from the landslide movement it was safe," he said.