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March 13, 2025 | 12:11 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Fishers in the coastal city of Batam lodged a complaint against the Ocarina reclamation project, which damaged the sea where they hinged their livelihood. They filed the complaint to the Riau Islands regional police after efforts to gain government support went unanswered.
Romi, one of the fishers in the area, said they filed the report about two weeks ago. The man, who is also the head of the Bengkong Kolam neighborhood unit, said residents have reported the damages to the central government back in 2019, and the local government in 2022. “There has been no response at all," Romi told Tempo on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
The reclamation project off Ocarina Beach has been underway since 2002, and continues to harm the environment off the Batam Island coasts and even clog the river.
"In August 2022, we requested a hearing with the Batam City DPRD (Regional Representative Council), but we have yet to be summoned to date. I’m disappointed with the local government," he said.
Besides fishers, heads of the local neighborhood units also file a complaint against the reclamation project, citing frequent flooding in the area due to obstructed river flows. "Floods could reach chest level during the rainy season,” said the head of a neighborhood unit at Nayon sub-district, Anwar Efendi Dalimunte, Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
"The company must take responsibility for resident reports on the narrowing of rivers, which prompted floodings, and reports on environmental damage due to the reclamation project by fishers,” said Romi.
When Tempo contacted the Head of Public Relations at the Riau Islands Regional Police, Pol. Grand Commissioner Zahwani Pandra Arysad, he asked for the confirmation to be directed to the office’s public information head, Pol. Comm. Adjutant Tigor Sidabariba. Tigor has yet to respond to Tempo's request for confirmation until this article is released.
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