Residents Poisoned By Leaking Gas Pipe, Commission VII DPR Will Summon PT SMGP Mandailing Natal To Ask For Responsibility

Illustration-Officers of West Jakarta Gulkarmat Sub-dept. extinguishing a fire that comes out of the ground/ Photo: IST

JAKARTA - Commission VII of the House of Representatives will summon PT Sorik Marapi Geothermal Project (PT SMGP) in Mandailing Natal (Madina) North Sumatra regarding a gas pipeline leak that has endangered local residents and has been hospitalized.

Member of Commission VII DPR RI Lamhot Sinaga said the gas leak had occurred repeatedly. This, he said, showed that the company was not able to run a safe and sustainable business. He called for the company's operations to be temporarily closed.

"If negligence and mismanagement are found, PT SMGP should take firm action and stop its operations. For me, the safety of the residents is the priority," Lamhot said in a statement to reporters, Monday, April 25.

The Golkar politician hopes that the government will take firm action for any incident that poses a risk to workers and the surrounding community. Moreover, said Lamhot, the gas leak of PT. SMGP is not uncommon.

Because, said Lamhot, in general, geothermal mining has used precise safety procedures. Namely, by using a Blow Out Preventer, or a blowout prevention system to close the drill hole when a kick occurs.

"The government should not only look at the economic aspect of the presence of this natural gas mine, the safety of the citizens must be the main priority," said Lamhot.

"For that, I ask PT SMGP to stop its operations first, until there is an audit result that says PT SMGP is safe to operate," continued the Golkar Legislator for the North Sumatra Dapil.

In addition, Lamhot added, a gas tester to detect the presence of hazardous and toxic gases in the oil and gas industry area must be implemented and monitored closely. The company, he said, was also obliged to provide complete treatment to the victims. At the same time provide reasonable compensation.

"But most importantly, I call for the company's operations to be closed and mining activities to be stopped first, until the audit is carried out," he said.

The DPR will also schedule a summons for PT SMGP to be held responsible for this incident.

"In the next session after Lebaran, Commission VII of the DPR will summon this company to ask for accountability for the incident," concluded Lamhot.