Jakarta, IO – Brawijaya University (Unbraw) student Sultan Rifat Alfatih had an accident after he was strangled by a dangling a fiber optic cable in Antasari, South Jakarta.
On January 5 at around 10pm WIB, he was riding a motorbike on Pangeran Antasari Street. Then an SUV in front of him hit the fiber optic cable that hung low, per BBC Indonesia, Tuesday (8/8).
The cable was dragged by the car, but unfortunately, Sultan who was riding behind the car got snapped on the neck by the cable.
It broke the bones in his throat, damaging his food and respiratory tract. Seven months later, he has yet to recover. Worse, he lost his ability to speak.
Currently, he can only eat and drink through a small tube inserted through his nose. The food he consumes must also be defrosted first. Sultan’s weight has dropped from 67 kg to 47 kg since the accident.
Nirwono Yoga, an urban planning expert from Trisakti University, said the incident illustrates the chaotic utility network in the capital city. Moreover, this is not the first time that people got hurt by the messy cables installed haphazardly.
According to Nirwono, this case must be solved by moving all utility cables underground. He pointed to several areas that can serve as the model, for example Kuningan and Sudirman CBD.
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Nirwono criticized that the existing regulations are not strong enough to force utility service providers to move their assets underground to make it safer for the public.
“The existing regulations so far are only guidelines. There is no enforcement, let alone strict penalty, such as cutting of the cables, as well as the company being held responsible for any injury caused,” said Nirwono.
Based on the proposed plan, Jakarta eyes to become free of dangling cables by 2030. (un)