Muddy and Deadly Road in Sepucuk-Cengal
Residents of East Padamaran village, Sungai Menang and Cengal districts in Ogan Komering Ilir regency, located 225 kilometers from Palembang, South Sumatra, have not enjoyed the results of development.
To get to Kayu Agung, the capital of Ogan Komering Ilir, it is necessary to travel along a severely damaged road.
A Kompas journalist had such an experience last week when traveling along the 4-meter wide road, which is 90 to 100 kilometers in length. Previously it took only three hours to reach the city. Now, it takes seven or eight hours by trail motorcycle or three to seven days by truck.
The journey began in Sepucuk, East Padamaran. Motorcyclists first take a boat 100 meters with a fare of Rp 10,000 per person and Rp 15,000 per motorcycle. Flooded with water that can be as deep as 2 meters, it is impossible to pass the road by motorcycle.
A kilometer from the floodwater is more flooding that is 1 meter deep and 50 meters in length. Here there is no boat and motorists have the brave the flooded road. Many motorbikes get bogged. Only trail motorcycles can pass through.
After passing the second pool of floodwater, a muddy road stretches ahead. The condition of the road become worse when it rains. Many motorcycles become trapped, especially those not using jagged-tread tires.
Motorcyclists fight desperately to push and lift their vehicles so as not to get stuck. Trucks that are not equipped with tandem axles also get stuck.
The muddy road stretches almost the entire length of the Sepucuk-Cengal route. The worst area is in Sidomulyo village, Sungai Menang, where the muddy road becomes a 4-meter wide pool of water 1.5 meters deep and 10 meters long.
On Tuesday night (April 24), two six-wheeled trucks carrying latex got stuck in the pool of water. Fourteen other trucks were lined up behind them. "We have been suffering for six months. If it doesn\'t rain, it takes three days to pass this road. If it rains, it can take a week," said Susilo, 31, a truck driver in Sidomulyo village.
The Kompas journalist used a trail motorcycle and did not face much difficulty passing the road. However, it took 7.5 hours to pass the 150-kilometer Sepucuk-Cengal section of the road.
Suffering
The bad condition of the road has had a negative impact on the socioeconomic lives of the people, especially in Cengal, the farthest subdistrict of Kayu Agung. Husband and wife Pardi, 47, and Sella, 40, residents of Cengal village, had a sad experience due to the bad condition of the road. A year ago, the third of their five children, Fitriyanti, died on the way to the hospital in Kayu Agung.
The head of Cengal village, Bahar Usman said, five women had died on the way to give birth or after delivery in Cengal village within the past two years. They died because it took too long for them to get to Kayu Agung for medical treatment.
Trucks do not want to come here because the travel time and operating costs have doubled. They wouldn\'t come even if the price of latex doubled.
The damaged road has also affected the economy of the residents. Nearly 80 percent of the residents of East Padamaran, Sungai Menang and Cengal work as rubber farmers. Every day, they sell their latex in Palembang.
Because of the state of the road, which has been in this condition for almost six months, the number of trucks using the road has declined to five to 10 trucks a day from 20 to 30 trucks per day previously.
"Trucks do not want to come here because the travel time and operating costs have doubled. They wouldn\'t come even if the price of latex doubled," said Mulyadi, 51, a rubber farmer in Cengal village.
The situation has worsened because the price of latex has dropped from Rp 11,000 per kg to Rp 5,500 per kg since early April. Now, many farmers are in debt. "Previously I could earn Rp 300,000 per day, whereas now I earn only Rp 100,000 per day," said Kahalal, 60, a rubber farmer Cengal village.
Housewives, especially the wife of rubber farmers, are suffering greatly from this condition. The price of staple goods has doubled. The price of rice has risen from Rp 180,000 per sack (20 kg) to Rp 240,000 per sack.
"For the last six months, I have had to be very frugal. I usually cook 1 kg of rice per day, but now I cook only 0.75 kg. If not used sparingly, our money wouldn\'t be enough to buy food for a month," said Nilawani, 35, the wife of rubber farmer in Dusun 5, Cengal village.
The price of fuel has soared. Gasoline prices rose from Rp 6,450 per liter to Rp 10,000 per liter. The prices of construction materials have also skyrocketed. The price of cement rose from Rp 70,000 per 50-kg bag to Rp 100,000 .
Neglected
Bahar said some people had lived in Cengal village since 1911. It began after the introduction of forest restrictions in the village in 1911. "In the past, there was only a dirt track and people used to travel to other places by boat," Bahar said.
According to the secretary of the district, Akhmad Zahir Tulus Putra, the Sepucuk-Cengal road is categorized as a district road and was built in 1979-1980 when people from other areas were relocated to the village as part of a transmigration program.
Over the years the road condition has continued to worsen. Moreover, the road is often passed by trucks carrying rubber and palm oil. The road is severely damaged during the rainy season. Moreover, there is no drainage and there is vast swathes of peatland around it. When it rains, the water from the peatland seeps into the road. "The road has been badly damaged since the beginning of last year and the damage has been increasingly exacerbated over the past six months," he said.
Village residents have repeatedly complained about this condition to the local government, but there has been no response. "According to the district, funds are limited. They can only fix the road gradually. Repairs are never complete and the road gets damaged again," said Bahar.
According to Bahar, villages receive village funds, but the funds can only be used to improve inter-regional roads. "We received Rp 109 million for the second phase in 2015, then Rp 411 million in 2016 and Rp 836 million in 2017. The money was not enough to repair damaged roads that are tens of kilometers in length," said Bahar.
It is hoped that the government will immediately repair the road. If the situation drags on, the residents of East Padamaran village, Sungai Menang and Cengal districts will continue to suffer along the Sepucuk-Cengal section of the road. Casualties may also continue to grow because the damage is getting worse.