TOPANG – Topang Village, Rangsang Subdistrict, Meranti Islands Regency has difficulty getting clean water due to the natural conditions that have a lot of peatlands. This is what causes the condition of the water to be red and unfit for consumption.
Responding to the need for clean water for the community, PT Timah Tbk handed over a package of drilled wells and their equipment to the residents of Topang Village, Rangsang District, Meranti Islands Regency, Tuesday (23/11/2021).
Head of Topang Village, Rubaidah said that to meet their daily needs, residents rely on rainwater. Where when it rains residents collect water in jars and other containers.
Meanwhile, for consumption water needs, residents buy water from outside the island. Residents find it increasingly difficult to get water during the dry season, so they have to spend more money to get water.
Rubaidah said that the source of water obtained by local residents comes from manually dug wells, residents have not been able to make boreholes independently because the costs are expensive and only limited.
"Even though people really need clean and good water to use and also safe for consumption. So now people rely on rainwater that is stored and gallons of water purchased from Tanjung Samak, Long Strait and also from Karimun. With a fairly expensive price, but like it or not, people keep buying because it has become a necessity,” he said.
Responding to this problem, his party proposed to PT Timah Tbk to overcome the problem of the clean water program.
"Thank God, we got a positive response from the management so that this clean water program can be implemented," he said.
Rubaidah admitted, it is not easy to create a clean water program, it needs a study and analysis due to the condition of peatlands. For this reason, his party cooperates with the University of UNRI, this clean water program can run successfully.
According to a technical expert from the University of Riau, Ariyo said that water that is suitable for consumption is water that comes from deep drilling, water that comes from the ground.
"Shallow drilling will produce water that is yellow in color and tends to contain rust which can endanger the health of residents," he said.
For this reason, he and his team are happy to be collaborating with PT Timah Tbk through CSR to help the Topang Village community in providing clean water and in line with the government's program in preparing clean water for the community.
The District Head of Rangsang Tunjiarto expressed his appreciation to PT Timah for consistently and continuously helping and caring for the people in their area.
"On this occasion, I would like to thank PT Timah Tbk for providing assistance, especially for the people of Topang Village who have built a drilled well unit to overcome water difficulties in the surrounding environment," he said.
"This assistance has made it easier for the community in terms of water for daily needs. Clean water is also a basic need," he continued.
The handover of the drilled well assistance was attended by Head of Production Unit for Riau Islands and Riau Islands Tonggo P. Situmorang, Coordinator of PPM for Riau Islands and Riau Islands Eka Budhy Susanto, Head of Rangsang Tunjiarto Sub-district, Head of Topang Suharto Village, Head of Fisherman Atan and the surrounding community. (**)
