THE hands of the clock had already passed the witching hour but Gumulung Tonggoh, a small village in Astanajapura in the West Java district of Cirebon, was yet to go to sleep. Dozens of trucks loaded with sand kept the village awake as they entered and exited, roaring and sending thick dust into the air.

"Several times the bupati (district head) promised to stop sand quarrying in the area, but the trucks keep coming and going, says Nasirudi