Apart From Mosques And Musala, Water Bills For Places Of Worship For Other People In Padang Are Free Until The End Of 2023

Padang Mayor Hendri Septa (central) and Director of Perumda for Drinking Water Hendra Pebrizal (left) and Head of BPSDM Arfian (right) during a press conference in Padang, West Sumatra/ANTARA

PADANG - The Regional Water Company (Perumda) of Padang City, West Sumatra, has made free water bills for hundreds of mosques and prayer rooms that have water budgets until the end of 2023. The Mayor of Padang, Hendri Septa, said that he as the power of the capital holder paid special attention to mosques and prayer rooms that were customers of Perumda Air Drinking. In total there are 607 Islamic houses of worship consisting of 291 mosques and 316 prayer rooms in Padang City that will get free programs starting from April to December 2023. According to him, this step was taken after holding a meeting with the directors of Perumda Air Drinking and it was agreed that the company's CSR funds would be returned to the community through mosques and prayer rooms. "In total there are 1,600 mosques and prayer rooms in Padang, but not all who subscribe to water with Perumda Air Drinking. For non-Muslim houses of worship we will also give free of charge as long as the house of worship subscribes," he said at a press conference in Padang, West Sumatra, Antara, Friday, March 24. In addition, this step was taken after the company was able to provide dividends for Padang City, namely Rp2.2 billion in 2021 and Rp4 billion in 2022. He targets the dividends received by Padang City in 2023 to continue to grow to more. "The commitment with Perumda proves that it is able to serve the basic needs of the community and there are benefits from these efforts so that they can be returned to the community," he said. Meanwhile, the President Director of Perumda Air Drinking Hendra Pebrizal said that his party allocated a budget of IDR 1 billion to provide free water programs for mosques and prayer rooms. "The average cost of mosque water and prayer rooms for one month is around Rp. 70 million to Rp. 80 million and the maximum limit for mosques is 300 cubic meters per month and prayer rooms are 200 cubic meters per month," he said. He appreciated the steps taken by the Padang City Government to provide free water costs to mosques and prayer rooms in the local city. "Perhaps this is the first time this has been done since this company was founded, we have also provided convenience for houses of worship who want to make new connections in the Perumda Air Drinking water network at a basic cost of Rp. 1.5 million for free, but if the cost is above Rp. 1.5 million, it will be charged to the applicant," he said.