Marsan simply watches Ciliwung River level<\/p>\n
By Johannes Simbolon\/Gedsiri Suhartono<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): His name is Marsan. He lives by the polluted
\nCiliwung River near the Panus bridge in Depok.<\/p>\n
His job is simple. He watches and then reports the water level
\nat the bridge. His job is so simple that his fellow villagers are
\nquick to state: \"Marsan sleeps but gets a salary from the
\ngovernment.\"<\/p>\n
You don't need a university degree to do his job.<\/p>\n
\"I am only a junior high school's dropout,\" he says.<\/p>\n
Simple as his job is, Marsan is crucial to the safety of the
\nhundreds of thousands of Jakartans living along the Ciliwing
\nRiver.<\/p>\n
Flood conditions can be seen at the Panus bridge six hours
\nbefore the flood waters hit Jakarta, 35.5 kilometers away.<\/p>\n
\"I must stay alert around the clock. Otherwise, the flood will
\ncome unannounced,\" he says.<\/p>\n
The Ciliwung is one of 13 murky rivers that meander through
\nJakarta. It is the third largest, after the Cisadane and Citarum.
\nA recent flood on the river killed six people and submerged
\nthousands of houses.<\/p>\n
Originating on Mt. Talaga near Tugu village in Bogor, the
\nriver makes its way to Jakarta past the Katulampa dam in Ciawi,
\nBogor and the Panus bridge in Depok.<\/p>\n
The water level is first monitored at the Katulampa dam, and
\nthen again by Marsan or his cousin Imih at Panus bridge.<\/p>\n
It takes three hours for flood waters to travel the 32
\nkilometers between Katulampa and Panus.<\/p>\n
\"My job is watching the watermark and radioing the level to
\nthe flood monitoring headquarters in Jatibaru, Tanah Abang, and
\nthe flood control station in Manggarai,\" Marsan explains,
\npointing to the scale painted on the bulwark of the Panus bridge.<\/p>\n
The sturdy bridge was built by the Dutch around 1917.<\/p>\n
The black and yellow scale goes from 60 to 400 centimeters.<\/p>\n
During rainy season, from November to March, the level is
\nnormally between 120 to 150 centimeters. During the dry season it
\ndrops to between 60 and 100 centimeters, says Marsan.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta will experience a flood if the water reaches 200
\ncentimeters,\" he explains.<\/p>\n
A flood at that level is considered normal by people living
\nnear the river, where flooding is a daily part of life.<\/p>\n
Last month's floods were beyond routine. The water level at
\nPanus swept above the 400 centimeter mark.<\/p>\n
\"The scale was totally covered. After the flood, I took a
\nmeasure and found that the water level was 435 centimeters,\" he
\nsays.<\/p>\n
It surpassed the big floods of 1976 and 1980, which reached
\n310 and 370 centimeters, says Marsan.<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old Marsan can predict a flood by looking at the
\nsky. The father of three has developed his flood instinct so
\nsharply that he instantly wakes up when a flood is coming.<\/p>\n
Marsan has been officially working at Panus since 1975, but
\nassisted his grandfather much earlier.<\/p>\n
He inherited the job from his grandfather. They lived together
\nin a small hut under the bridge after Marsan's father died and
\nhis mother remarried.<\/p>\n
\"As a boy, I often accompanied my grandfather to phone in our
\nreport to Jatibaru and Manggarai. Depok was still an empty and
\ndark area. We walked with a flashlight from the bridge for two
\nkilometers to the nearest phone,\" he recalls.<\/p>\n
After his grandfather retired in 1974, the government gave him
\nthe job because \"no one was interested in the boring job,\" he
\nsays.<\/p>\n
The situation has changed. Marsan and his family live in a
\ngovernment house near the bridge. He doesn't need to walk
\nkilometers to send his reports because he has been provided with
\na two-way radio.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes, however, if the electricity is off, I can't use
\nthe radio and must go find a public phone,\" he explains.<\/p>\n
The facilities would be useless, however, if Marsan was not
\ndedicated to his work. He could slack off if he wanted, sine he
\nhas no one to watch him, but he never leaves his station.<\/p>\n
\"For me, work is number one. I prefer it to my family. If my
\nchild fell ill when a flood was coming, I would choose observing
\nthe river,\" he asserts.<\/p>\n
His dedication gets him high marks on his assessment report.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marsan-simply-watches-ciliwung-river-level-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }