Ciliwung River home to locals' floating toilets<\/p>\n
Text and photo by Ida Indawaty Khouw<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Houses without toilets are commonplace for many
\nliving in Jakarta slums, so much so that they are forced to erect
\npublic toilets or relieve themselves in rivers.<\/p>\n
Located near the hustle and bustle of the Jatinegara area
\nwhere only a small number of private homes have toilets, for
\nyears Kebon Pala residents living along the Ciliwung River have
\nfound it impossible to install toilets on their premises either
\ndue to poverty or the narrowness of their homes.<\/p>\n
They instead make use of the murky river and have built
\nfloating toilets which have become the center of much activity.<\/p>\n
About 10 floating toilets are scattered around the area, which
\nalso has public bathhouses, popularly known as Mandi Cuci Kakus
\n(MCK, bathe, wash, toilet).<\/p>\n
\"Each community group has its own MCK but there are not any
\nhere, furthermore we should pay for the public ones while here is
\nfree,\" local youth Fadillah told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The floating toilets are constructed on bamboo poles tightly
\nfasten together by thick rope.<\/p>\n
To keep the bamboo raft in one location afloat, scores of used
\ntires are tied along the raft's sides and three layers of used
\nrafts are stacked underneath.<\/p>\n
\"We pile a new raft on top of an old broken one, we discard
\nthe very bottom one after there are three layers. The raft
\nusually breaks after two years,\" said Fadillah.<\/p>\n
He said local residents made the floating toilets themselves
\nafter collecting money from community members, adding that one
\nraft cost Rp 450,000.<\/p>\n
Another resident, Luki, said each alley in the area had its
\nown floating toilet and it had became the responsibility of
\ncommunity members to finance repairs.<\/p>\n
On Monday, head of the city office of the Ministry of Health
\nDedy Ruswendi said some three million Jakartans, or 30 percent of
\nthe capital's residents, relieved themselves in rivers or canals,
\ncausing water pollution.<\/p>\n
The condition is the main cause of diarrhea in the city, with
\nthe incidence rate at 16.5 per 1,000 people, the office data
\nrevealed.<\/p>\n
Kebon Pala residents said that floating toilets were a better
\nchoice than building MCKs.<\/p>\n
\"Building MCKs is more expensive, the waste is also released
\ninto the same river. Moreover, we've had floating toilets for
\nyears,\" said resident Mutholib.<\/p>\n
As with most rivers in the city, the Ciliwung River, which
\nflows through Kebon Pala subdistrict, is utilized for many
\nactivities like bathing, washing clothes and dumping garbage.<\/p>\n
From quite a distance, a bad odor from human waste and garbage
\ncan be smelled emitting from the murky river.<\/p>\n
It is not uncommon for children, who swim almost daily in the
\nriver, to suffer skin disease.<\/p>\n
Eight-year-old Aji happily swims in the river with his
\nfriends, oblivious to people relieving themselves in the upper
\nreaches of the river.<\/p>\n
Aji said he considered swimming in a river full of filth
\nnothing to worry about.<\/p>\n
\"It's easy, if we see human feces floating around, we just
\nswim to the other side. The water itself is clean, isn't it?\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Another resident Mak Mimi said it was common for babies to
\nsuffer from diarrhea.<\/p>\n
\"A baby will recover after being treated at community health
\ncenters, even though some have died. God is generous in that it
\nseems we are immune to disease,\" she said.(ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ciliwung-river-home-to-locals-floating-toilets-1447893297",
"image": ""
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