My Home town

• After 72 years of independent Indonesia, there are still residents in the province of Babylon Islands who live isolated. In fact, their presence is not so far from the central government of provincial and district capital. It's just access to their settlement that makes the existence of this citizen like untouchable. This is the story of residents in Kampung Pengkalen Batu, Ranggung Village, Payung District, South Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province.

and other public services, for those luxuries that are to some extent fulfilled. Life relying on a canoe and living in a house on stilts is typical of Batu Pengkalen residents. A total of 120 Batu Stone people everyday use the boat as a means of transportation. Appeared on Friday afternoon ago, dozens of boats tied in the marshes of the River Factory. The swamp is the entrance to the village of Batu Pengkalen which is decades isolated and without adequate public service facilities. This boat is used to carry the corpse, because the village does not have a Public Cemetery (TPU). "

Everyone who died we took him using a keranda, then put on a boat, it is difficult if the dry season, the water often receded, the residents must push the boat first to the middle to the boat road," said Pardi, citizen Pengkalen Batu.

That location became the main point of the River Factory to go to Batu Pengkalen. Vice versa. Although including the South Bangka regency, this village is closer to Pangkalpinang. From Pangkalpinang, residents or migrants travel a distance of 93 kilometers to reach Pengkalen Batu. Pardi is quite adept at rowing a boat carrying Bangka Pos along the forest and swamp that is wide enough. According to Pardi, Pengkalen Batu residents have been relying on river transportation for decades. No other access can be used other than the River Factory flow.

About 20 minutes sailing from Ranggung Village, Bangka Pos arrived at the Batu Pengkalen boat base. Naturally Pardi must be adept at rowing a canoe. The river flow along with Bangka Pos is quite winding and narrow. The Batu Penkalen settlement area is about one kilometer from the boat base. The graveled dirt road brings Bangka Pos to a village that relies solely on electricity from the diesel and solar powered engines. Pardi calls solar panels recently enjoyed by Pengkalen Batu residents.