The need for clean water relief in a number of drought-stricken areas\nin Central Java is expected to rise in August, yet the availability of\nclean water for relief has been cut by 70 per cent, from 123\u2013129 million\nlitres to 44\u201346 million litres, owing to the increase in fuel\nprices.<\/p>\n
According to Media Indonesia\u2019s monitoring on Sunday (19 July), the\nnumber of areas affected by the dry-season drought in Central Java\ncontinues to expand, with 16 areas now having declared drought emergency\nstatus. The provision of clean water relief for affected residents\ncontinues to increase across 15 areas, including Cilacap, Banyumas,\nPurbalingga, Banjarnegara, Purworejo, Magelang, Boyolali, Klaten,\nSukoharjo, Sragen, Grobogan, Jepara, Demak, Semarang Regency and\nPemalang.<\/p>\n
To date, the Central Java Provincial Government has distributed\n3,258,000 litres of clean water (660 tankers) to 30,378 families (81,297\npeople) in the drought-affected areas. With August and September\nexpected to mark the peak of the dry season, the need for relief water\nis anticipated to grow further.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor August, the need for clean water relief in drought-affected\nareas is estimated to reach 4 million litres,\u201d said the Head of the\nCentral Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Bergas\nCatursasi Penangggungan, on Sunday (19 July).<\/p>\n
According to Bergas, although the available supply of relief water\nshould in theory be sufficient to face the dry season and the drought\ndisaster, the 70 per cent cut has created a problem.<\/p>\n
He explained that the clean water relief supply had initially been\nprepared at 123\u2013129 million litres in line with the available budget,\nbut the fuel price increase forced a 70 per cent reduction, leaving only\n44\u201346 million litres available.<\/p>\n
Before the conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait\nof Hormuz, Bergas continued, the Central Java BPBD had planned to\nprepare 123 million litres of clean water relief for this year\u2019s dry\nseason, but the figure shrank because operational costs and personnel\nexpenditure rose following the fuel price increase.<\/p>\n
After distributing some 3.2 million litres of relief water, Bergas\nadded, the remaining clean water relief the Central Java BPBD can still\nchannel to drought-hit areas stands at around 40 million litres, as the\nfuel price rise has forced the agency to make adjustments.<\/p>\n
He expressed hope that by October, November and December, rain would\nbegin to fall in the areas currently affected by drought, so that the\nneed for clean water relief would decline or even fall to zero. \u201cWe have\nto revise and adjust our operational costs going forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, as of Friday (17 July 2026), 56 families comprising 173\npeople in Pamoyanan, Plered District, and 446 families comprising 1,349\npeople in Batutumpang Village, Tegalwaru District, were experiencing\nclean water shortages.<\/p>\n
Based on mapping, 27 of the 31 districts in Bandung Regency have\nentered drought emergency alert status.<\/p>\n
The Sukabumi municipal government has declared drought emergency\nstatus, effective from 1 July to 30 September 2026.<\/p>\n
Some 12,956 residents in Banyumas are experiencing a clean water\ncrisis due to the dry season. The Banyumas BPBD has channelled 195,000\nlitres of water to 14 affected villages.<\/p>\n
The clean water crisis caused by the prolonged dry season in\nBanjarnegara has spread to 11 villages. The BPBD has distributed\n1,030,000 litres of clean water to thousands of affected residents.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fuel-price-hike-slashes-clean-water-aid-for-central-java-drought-relief-by-70-percent-1784465440", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }