Kupastuntas.co, Bandar Lampung - After Instagram @pandawaragrup made the beach in Lampung the second dirtiest in Indonesia, thousands of people together with Bandar Lampung City Government employees, Lampung Provincial Government employees and the Pandawara Group community took action to clean up piles of trash on Sukaraja Beach, Bumi Waras District, Bandar Lampung .

The action to clean up piles of trash on Sukaraja Beach was carried out from 07.00 AM to 14.00 PM, on Monday (10/7/23). Thousands of people work together to lift and collect trash from the beach and then put it in a dump truck that has been prepared to be taken to the Bakung TPA.

In this activity, the Mayor of Bandar Lampung, Eva Dwiana, and Danrem 043/Garuda Hitam, Brigadier General TNI Iwan Ma'ruf Zainudin, mingled with the community to help clean up piles of trash on the beach.

Even though it was raining, that didn't stop the community from getting involved in helping clean up piles of trash on the beach. The Bandar Lampung Environment Service (DLH) deployed 50 dump trucks to transport the trash that was being cleaned at Sukaraja Beach.

In addition to dump trucks, DLH Bandar Lampung also deployed heavy equipment in the form of excavators to dredge heavy category waste such as tree trunks and fishermen's fishing nets.

"From DLH deployed 900 cleaning workers. We just follow Pandawara's agenda until it's finished. We don't stop until Pandawara is finished," said Head of DLH Bandar Lampung, Budiman P Mega, Monday (10/7).

He estimated that as much as 300 tons of waste were transported in the clean-up. "We will transport those who have been sacked. The problem is if it is dredged it will not be finished," he explained.

A member of the Pandawara Group, Gilang Rahma said, the action was carried out to strengthen the synergy between the community and the government in order to maintain an environment free from waste, one of which is on the shoreline in Indonesia.

"This is one of the activities that initially aims to strengthen the synergy between the community and the government so that they are no longer stigmatized and blame each other. Because waste (garbage) itself is actually the responsibility of all humans who are still living on earth," said Gilang.

Gilang revealed that the garbage clean-up activity on Lampung Beach was to create public awareness of the importance of cleanliness.

"We always expose to the people of Indonesia what we get is always conveyed as it is, not exaggerating or subtracting," he explained.

He explained that the content published on the Instagram account @pandawaragrup collaborated with fellow environmentalists in various regions in Indonesia.

"We have colleagues from Aceh to Maluku. They always monitor their respective regions, then tell us that there are these beaches that need help to unite the community and the government, especially regarding the waste problem," he explained.

Asked why the Pandawa Group called the beach in Lampung the second dirtiest in Indonesia, Gilang said this was in accordance with what they had found so far.

"In accordance with what we have said in the previous video. Because before we saw the condition of this beach, we had also seen the condition of other beaches from the east to the west. And we had found many beaches with various conditions. Until finally we had our own reasons. why sentence the beach in Lampung to be the 2nd dirtiest in Indonesia. After yesterday we found the 1st dirtiest beach in Indonesia, namely in Pandeglang," he stressed.

He hopes that the government and the community can collaborate with each other in creating a clean environment, one of which is the beach.

"The hope is that there will be further maintenance from the community and government, collaboration and sustainability capable of creating a system that can make significant changes," he said.

A fisherman on Sukaraja Beach, Irawan hopes that the local government can provide a more effective solution in dealing with the problem of waste on the shoreline.

"We hope that there will be innovations that the local government can provide in dealing with the waste that is here. Because without waiting a long time, it is certain that there will be more piles of garbage coming from rivers sent in Bandar Lampung," said Irwan.

Meanwhile, the Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Lampung called the action of the community of young people who joined the Pandawara Group to clean up piles of trash on Sukaraja Beach, Bumi Waras District, Bandar Lampung, as a form of slap for the local government.

Executive Director of Walhi Lampung, Irfan Tri Musri said, the movement to clean up piles of trash on Sukaraja Beach which was initiated by the Pandawara Group community was a slap in the face as well as a stern warning to the Bandar Lampung City Government and the Provincial Government Lampung province. Because so far the problem of piles of garbage on the coast has never been taken seriously.

"This is a slap and a warning to the local government due to the fact that so far there has been neglect related to waste management in the area," said Irfan, Monday (10/7).

According to Irfan, the Pandawara Group's action must be a momentum for the local government in order to make improvements to waste management in coastal areas.

Irfan said he appreciated the movement carried out by the Pandawara Group community as an action by young people who have concern for the coastal environment.

In fact, continued Irfan, the Pandawara Group's action was not the first to be carried out in Lampung. Previously, they also had quite a number of similar activities carried out by them.

"Actually, the problem of piles of garbage on Sukaraja Beach is a classic problem. In 2014, Walhi has encouraged the Bandar Lampung City Government to make specific policies such as forming a response team and having infrastructure and facilities to clean up piles of trash on local beaches," he explained.

Irfan revealed that the problem of garbage on the beach in Bandar Lampung is not an ordinary problem, it is not enough to just finish 1-2 activities immediately.

"Because of the characteristics of the Lampung Bay area, garbage piles will continue to occur every day. If there is no specific policy to deal with it, the piles of garbage will continue to exist," he stressed. (*)

This news has been published in the Kupas Tuntas daily newspaper edition of Tuesday 11 July 2023 with the title "Together Clean Up Piles of Garbage on Sukaraja Beach"