Marunda Still Polluted With Coal Dust Causing Disease, DKI Provincial Government Urged To Immediately Verify Field

The situation of loading coal into a truck at PT Karya Citra Nusantara Port (KCN), Marunda, Jakarta, Wednesday, January 12, 2022. (ANTARA-M Risyal H)

JAKARTA - A group of Marunda residents who are members of the Advocacy Team Against Coal (TALB) urged the DKI Jakarta Environment Agency (DLH) to immediately carry out a field verification of coal dust pollution in Marunda Rusunawa.

This is because, even though the DKI LH Service has uncovered the perpetrators of the pollution and imposed sanctions up to the revocation of the company's environmental permit since September 2022, in fact, coal dust pollution is still widespread.

"The Advocacy Team Against Coal requests and urges the DKI Jakarta Environment Agency to carry out a field verification of the occurrence of environmental pollution due to coal dust in the Marunda area," said TALB representative from LBH Jakarta, Jihan Fauziah Hamdi in a statement, Thursday, December 19.

Jihan revealed that coal dust pollution in the Marunda Rusunawa has proven to have a negative impact on the health of residents in the Marunda area. This condition is shown in the results of a health check from 9 to 11 January 2023 by the Cilincing Health Center.

As a result, 100 residents experienced disease, namely 63 people with itching, 16 people with cold coughs, 8 people with high blood pressure, 3 people with headaches, 3 people with complaints of eye pain, 3 people with complaints of body aches, 2 people with measles, and 2 people with digestive complaints.

"The repeated pollution that occurred is a failure in the function of supervising and monitoring the air quality of the DKI Jakarta Environment Agency," she explained.

Therefore, Jihan also urged the DKI Environment Agency to provide all kinds of information, including information on the results of monitoring and/or research based on scientific data that is accountable and transparent to Marunda residents as part of their right to information, participation and environmental justice.

"Also, providing guarantees of non-recurrence and carrying out various efforts to monitor, supervise and prevent environmental pollution due to coal in the Marunda Region," she concluded.