Tiada Lagi yang Bermukim di Jalur Cepat
No Longer Living in the Fast Lane
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
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BANGUNAN setinggi lima lantai, berdiri kokoh di tengah jalan tol menjadikannya simbol perlawanan. Setelah menolak digusur, sementara pemerintah membangun jalan tol di sekitar rumahnya, pasangan tua asal China akhirnya menyerah.
Di depan kerumunan orang yang menonton, buldoser dan tukang merubuhkan rumah mereka.
Luo Baogen dan istrinya sebelumnya bersikeras tinggal di rumah bertingkat yang separuh hancur di kota Wenling, Provinsi Zhejiang, karena mereka yakin kompensasi relokasi yang ditawarkan pemerintah tidaklah memadai.
Pasangan ini menjadi satu-satunya penghuni yang tersisa di kawasan tersebut setelah dibangun jalan untuk jalan pintas menuju stasiun kereta api baru di pinggiran kota.
Jalan belum resmi dibuka saat pasangan tersebut tinggal - situasi yang akan membuat hunian mereka jadi lebih berbahaya.
Luo seorang petani, 67 tahun, sebelumnya menolak kompensasi dari pemerintah senilai 220 ribu yuan (22 ribu pounds) untuk relokasi padahal biaya pembangunan rumahnya mencapai 600 ribu yuan (60 ribu pounds).
Kepala desa setempat, Chen Xuecai mengatakan: Luo Baogen menerima puluhan wartawan setiap hari karena rumahnya berdiri di tengah jalan. Jadi dia memutuskan untuk merelakan rumahnya dirubuhkan.
Lihat: Menolak Dijual? Santai Aja Tinggal di Tengah Jalan Raya
AT FIVE storeys high, it stood in the middle of a newly-built motorway as a symbol of resistance.
But after refusing to relocate while authorities built a giant road around their home, an elderly Chinese couple has finally admitted defeat.
In front of a crowd of onlookers, bulldozers and diggers moved in to tear the stubborn house to the ground.
Luo Baogen and his wife previously insisted on staying in the half-demolished building in the city of Wenling, Zhejiang province, because they believed that the relocation compensation offered by the government was not enough.
The couple were the only the only remaining occupants of their neighbourhood after the road was constructed to lead to a new rail station on the outskirts of the city.
The road had not yet been officially opened while the couple still lived in the property - a situation that would have made their occupancy even more dangerous.
Duck farmer Luo, 67, had previously refused the Government´s paltry compensation of 220,000 yuan (£22,000) for relocation. He spent 600,000 yuan (£60,000) completing the house.
Village chief Chen Xuecai said: ´Luo Baogen received dozens of people from the media every day and his house stands in the center of the road. So he decided to demolish the house.´
Read: Won"t Sell Up? Enjoy Living in The Middle of a Motorway
