In response to pollution complaints, a coal plant in Indonesia offered soap and mops

Village leaders in Sumberejo, East Java, once had plans to entice travelers to their coastal town. Tourist facilities were planned for Ndaki Beach where the waves of the Indian Ocean crash upon this Indonesian island. Nearby Bawur Beach was also seen as having tourism potential. Now, locals say, the construction of a 630-megawatt coal-fired power plant has killed these development aspirations: Bawur Beach, just west of the plant, is blocked by the facility, while Ndaki Beach has changed dramatically. “We had a beautiful beach at Ndaki, but because of the power plant, the waves got focused towards one point at the beach and now we have erosion there,” Suyono, a community leader from Sumberejo told Mongabay-Indonesia.

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