Kupastuntas.co, Lampung English - The people of Sidodadi Hamlet, Kota Besi Village, Batu Brak District, West Lampung Regency protested, because the connecting road for Sidodadi Hamlet - Cilimus Hamlet was badly damaged due to heavy equipment passing on the Pekon ring road without using safety devices.

The Head of Sidodadi Village, Abdul Gofur said that the excavator type heavy equipment passed on Wednesday 22 March 2023 at around 11.00 AM.

"From the start, the community did not allow heavy equipment in the form of excavators to pass on the road, because they were afraid it would damage the road which is an alternative access for the community. But maybe they came from Teba Liokh Village," said Abdul, when confirmed at the damage site, Wednesday 22 March 2023 afternoon.

As a result of this incident, the road linking the two hamlets was badly damaged. Even the damage that occurs cannot only be repaired, but must be dismantled and rebuilt. Because the left and right sides of the road have been destroyed, even the right side of the road has collapsed.

"They also don't have coordination and no permission with residents if they want to cross so it's damaged like that," he said.

According to him, the length of the road that was badly damaged was 50 meters which was built in 2020. The plan is to reconstruct it this year to increase the length of the road through the village budget.

"But with the condition of the road which is currently in a state of disrepair, residents must think again about continuing construction," he continued.

Apart from damaging the connecting road between hamlets, the excavator also crossed the regency road linking Village Kota Besi and Teba Liokh and the provincial road to Suoh without safety devices, so that a number of district roads in three hamlets namely Sidodadi, Bumbon and Way Seluang also impact.

Sudirman, a resident of Way Seluang Hamlet, said that his party deeply regretted the arbitrary actions carried out by related parties, because according to him, so far the community had struggled to ensure that the government built this road.

However, when it was built there were parties who deliberately wanted to damage the road section. According to Udil, his nickname before the road was built, he and the local community worked together to open the road so that it could be passed.

"I and the people here, from before the rebate was built, as it is now, work together to open this road body from this still clay. Then the stones to this road are rebate, the people here are fighting for it, so we regret that there are parties who deliberately want to damage the sections this way," he said.

According to him, this road is the main access for the local community. In fact, this road is used by the community to carry out activities and is the main access for children to go to school, because there are two schools in the local area that must pass through this road, namely elementary and junior high schools.

"This road was built around 2009, and we are fighting for this because we want our children to have easy access to school," he said annoyed.

He and the community asked related parties to be held accountable for this, because it is clear that heavy equipment is not allowed to pass on any road sections, because it has the potential to damage road infrastructure.

Based on information obtained by kupastuntas.co, the heavy equipment in the form of an excavator belonged to a police officer who served at a Polsek in West Lampung. The heavy equipment was lowered to carry out dredging work in the area.

Meanwhile, the owner of the heavy equipment excavator, Andri said, this problem was a misunderstanding. He admitted that he had coordinated with the village head regarding the operation of the excavator on this road section.

"Before operating, we coordinated with Village head and received permission from him. Regarding the damage to the Village Ring Road, I have conveyed it to K. If there is damage, I will fix it later. Maybe there was a miscommunication so that residents complained," said Andri. when contacted Wednesday 22 March 2023 evening. (*)

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