LUSI (LUMPUR SIDOARJO), A WARNING OR PUNISHMENT FOR INDONESIA?

Of the worst disaster, and may be the hardest one with long impact in the last five years for the Indonesian is Sidoarjo Mudflow in East Java. The disaster, coming almost simultaneously with an earthquake  5.9 on the Ritcher scale in Yogyakarta and parts of Central Java, is so far not resolved. This arises a question of whether the Sidoarjo Mudflow disaster is a warning or punishment for human greed in this abundant-resources country.

source: www.swidodo.wordpress.com

The disaster which is now still very controversial in its causes started from May 2006. About a month before the incident, PT Lapindo Brantas, a drilling company in EAST JAVA, began drilling Banjar Panji-1 well by using the company's drilling contractor, PT Medici Citra Nusantara. At first, the well was planned to a depth of 8500 feet. Several technical obstacles occured when the drilling reached several thousands feet. At that moment, precisely May 27, 2006, a 5.9 Rithcher Scale earthquake occurred in Yogyakarta and surrounding areas that were located more than 400 km from the drilling activity.

A few days after the earthquake, a mud flow appeared a few hundred meters from the drilled well. The bursts were getting bigger and as recorded in the month of May 2009, a blast of the hot mud had buried dozens of villages and almost two thousands of houses in surrounding area. Until now, in 2010, Sidoarjo Mudflow could not be stopped despite the various parties, both PT. Lapindo Brantas and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia had brought a lot of experts from abroad.
A question arises for the community about whether this mudflow is a warning or punishment for the Indonesian people due to the length of this disaster. It is all about not to exploit nature without regard to the environment. Thousands of people have lost their homes, job, and wealth due to the mudflow. Although Indonesia has abundant natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, mining materials to the forest, the wisdom to take advantage of this gift is an obligation if Indonesian do not want to give bad environment to the future of their next generation..