Kicking up dust

Editor's note: In this weekly feature China Daily gives voice to Asia and its people. The stories presented come mainly from the Asia News Network (ANN), of which China Daily is among its 20 leading titles.

In South Sumatra's Muara Maung village, coal mining has become an inescapable part of daily life, with expanding operations choking the community's air, land and water, leaving residents to grapple with worsening environmental degradation.

For 47-year-old Sumhayana, the impacts are impossible to escape. Since several coal mines began operating near the village, flooding has become a recurring reality.

This year alone, her home has been flooded three times. The latest deluge, in late April, inundated her neighborhood, swept away crops in her farmland, and left her house coated in 10-centimeter-thick mud.

"Flooding brings so much hardship. I spend hours cleaning my house after the water recedes, and I have to be more vigilant about diseases that usually spread during floods," she told The Jakarta Post recently.

Sumhayana said life in Muara Maung has changed profoundly as coal mining operations continue to expand around the village.

The relentless roar of coal trucks now rattles through the village day and night, shattering its once-peaceful atmosphere and leaving roads cracked and damaged under the weight of heavy vehicles.

In the dry season, clouds of coal dust billow through the village, settling on rooftops, yards and furniture, forcing residents to clean their homes almost every day. When the rains come, many roads turn into muddy, waterlogged tracks.

The nearby Kungkilan River, once the village's lifeline, is no longer fit for daily use. As its water quality has deteriorated, residents have been forced to drill wells or buy clean water instead.