That is why the government must subsidize drinking water, regardless of how much it will spend."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Fulfilling the clean water needs of the general public is one of the governments efforts to address injustice, Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla stated.
Kalla made the remarks while addressing the inauguration of the Umbulan Drinking Water Management System in Pasuruan District, East Java, on Thursday.
"If households have no clean water connections, they will buy it in jerrycans at Rp40 thousand per meter cubic as compared to that sold by the drinking water company at Rp4-Rp5 thousand or even at Rp2 thousand here. Hence, without hard work to meet the publics clean water needs, there will be injustice. In fact, urban well-to-do families that have clean water connections can buy it at Rp6 thousand, while residents living on the outskirts of the city and having no clean water connections pay Rp40 thousand for it," he pointed out.
For its part, the government will constantly strive to give the general public wide access to clean water services at affordable prices, he emphasized.
"That is why the government must subsidize drinking water, regardless of how much it will spend. More importantly, people from the low-income group should have access to drinking water at lower prices than those paid by well-to-do families," he noted.
As the poor have no access to clean water services, they have to pay economically more than the affluent families do, he said.
"The second issue is related to health. The lack of clean water will lead to several health problems and diseases, thereby posing a problem to the nation in the long run," he added.
(Reported by Muhammad Arief Iskandar/Uu.S012/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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