Sharpe
Senior Moderator
This is interesting. It's in the middle of Tangerang--which is one of the worst-hit places in Indonesia in terms of confirmed human infections. They eat the nests too!
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20060807.D05&irec=4
Residents complain about bird houses
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Built beside residences on Jl. Raya Cisauk in Serpong, you could be forgiven for thinking that these tall concrete structures are offices or apartments.
However, the absence of windows -- only hundreds of small holes -- is a sure sign they are not occupied by humans.
Designed for swallows, the holes allow the birds to come and go.
Residents of Jl. Raya Cisauk have often complained about the shrill noise and the mess produced by the fast-flying birds. But since the owners of the roosts are in the business of supplying nests for the lucrative bird's nest soup market, they feel powerless to do anything.
The Jakarta Post observed that the owners of the roosts attract swallows by playing cassettes of swallow-like noises.
The price of a bird's nest -- which are made from mud and twigs pasted together with saliva -- ranges from Rp 200,000 to Rp 500,000 per kilogram, depending on availability.
It is believed that the nests, besides being tasty, also have healing properties for a number of ailments.
"I don't understand why they build swallow roosts so close to people's homes. I don't even know who the owners of the roosts are," said a resident of the street, Mustalih, on Saturday.
Abdul Hamid, who also lives in the neighborhood, said the regency administration had not paid much attention to the presence of the swallow roosts.
"I am certain of there being collusion between the bird's nest suppliers and administration officials. All we get are shrieking sounds and bird droppings," he said.
More and more Jakartans have started up this type of business in Tangerang because it draws handsome profits.
But while many locals are opposed to the building of structures for nesting, the administration has done nothing about them to date.
"Swallow roosts in residential areas clearly have an adverse impact on the health of the people who live there," Kurniadi, an activist with non-governmental organization Eka Nusa Environment, told the Post.
He said locals could suffer from skin diseases, respiratory problems and even dengue as a result of living near the roosts.
The bird baths inside the roosts are also breeding grounds for disease, he said.
"Besides which, the presence of the roosts violates building codes and the regency's spatial planning."
An investigation conducted by his organization found the owners of the roosts had not obtained business or building permits and no environmental impact analyses had been done.
"We have asked the administration to demolish the structures but officials only promised to survey the area first," Kurniadi said.
The group's data shows that there are some 222 swallow roosts in Serpong and 120 in Cisauk that are located near people's houses.
"The number will continue to increase if the administration takes no action," Kurniadi said.
Odang Masduki, the head of the regency's Public Order Agency, said no complaints about the swallow roosts in the two districts had been lodged.
"We can go ahead and demolish the roosts, but there must be coordination from the related technical agencies," he said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20060807.D05&irec=4
Residents complain about bird houses
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Built beside residences on Jl. Raya Cisauk in Serpong, you could be forgiven for thinking that these tall concrete structures are offices or apartments.
However, the absence of windows -- only hundreds of small holes -- is a sure sign they are not occupied by humans.
Designed for swallows, the holes allow the birds to come and go.
Residents of Jl. Raya Cisauk have often complained about the shrill noise and the mess produced by the fast-flying birds. But since the owners of the roosts are in the business of supplying nests for the lucrative bird's nest soup market, they feel powerless to do anything.
The Jakarta Post observed that the owners of the roosts attract swallows by playing cassettes of swallow-like noises.
The price of a bird's nest -- which are made from mud and twigs pasted together with saliva -- ranges from Rp 200,000 to Rp 500,000 per kilogram, depending on availability.
It is believed that the nests, besides being tasty, also have healing properties for a number of ailments.
"I don't understand why they build swallow roosts so close to people's homes. I don't even know who the owners of the roosts are," said a resident of the street, Mustalih, on Saturday.
Abdul Hamid, who also lives in the neighborhood, said the regency administration had not paid much attention to the presence of the swallow roosts.
"I am certain of there being collusion between the bird's nest suppliers and administration officials. All we get are shrieking sounds and bird droppings," he said.
More and more Jakartans have started up this type of business in Tangerang because it draws handsome profits.
But while many locals are opposed to the building of structures for nesting, the administration has done nothing about them to date.
"Swallow roosts in residential areas clearly have an adverse impact on the health of the people who live there," Kurniadi, an activist with non-governmental organization Eka Nusa Environment, told the Post.
He said locals could suffer from skin diseases, respiratory problems and even dengue as a result of living near the roosts.
The bird baths inside the roosts are also breeding grounds for disease, he said.
"Besides which, the presence of the roosts violates building codes and the regency's spatial planning."
An investigation conducted by his organization found the owners of the roosts had not obtained business or building permits and no environmental impact analyses had been done.
"We have asked the administration to demolish the structures but officials only promised to survey the area first," Kurniadi said.
The group's data shows that there are some 222 swallow roosts in Serpong and 120 in Cisauk that are located near people's houses.
"The number will continue to increase if the administration takes no action," Kurniadi said.
Odang Masduki, the head of the regency's Public Order Agency, said no complaints about the swallow roosts in the two districts had been lodged.
"We can go ahead and demolish the roosts, but there must be coordination from the related technical agencies," he said.
