Problems hinder anti-flood programs<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Various factors, ranging from reckless housing
\ndevelopment to the community's bad habits hinder the city
\nadministration's efforts to protect certain areas prone to
\nfloods, an official said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Chief of the city public works office, Soeharto told reporters
\nmany factors hinder the administration's efforts to eliminate
\nflood problems in the city's flood prone areas.<\/p>\n
\"The development of housing complexes in the city are partly
\nresponsible for causing floods because several of them are built
\nwithout proper sewage networks,\" Soeharto said after accompanying
\nmembers of the city council visiting dam projects in North
\nJakarta. The visit was undertaken to inspect preparations of
\nanticipated floods during this year's rainy season.<\/p>\n
\"The developers have no intentions of building such facilities
\neven though the complex locations are very low,\" Soeharto said,
\nrefusing to give details.<\/p>\n
He also stressed that the community's bad habits toward
\ncleanliness, such as disposing of waste thoughtlessly and
\nbuilding houses along river banks, constitute as other causes of
\nfloods.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the 13 rivers passing through Jakarta are in bad
\ncondition. They are filled with garbage,\" he said. The only
\nsolution to the problems is to rehabilitate the rivers by
\ndredging and widening them.<\/p>\n
During yesterday's visit, council members went to the Sunter
\nriver project, which has been widened from its previous 15 meters
\nto 23 meters and has been dredged down to five meters.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said there are at least 10 artificial dams in North
\nJakarta, including Sunter Timur I, II, III and Warakas.<\/p>\n
Soeharto explained that the Warakas dam project, to be
\nexpanded to cover 31 hectares, is designed to protect a total of
\n1,250 hectares of areas, including the Kebon Bawang area.<\/p>\n
\"We have to build five inlet channels in that dam project,\" he
\nsaid. But another channel into Sunter II cannot be built because
\nthe location, earmarked for construction of the channel, is
\nalready used as a housing complex so that we are forced to
\ninstall two temporary pumps with two water gates,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
He added the temporary project is worth Rp 1 billion.<\/p>\n
The 8-hectare Sunter I dam project is designed to protect a
\ntotal of 200 hectares of areas, including the Navy housing
\ncomplex in Kodamar.<\/p>\n
\"The project is worth Rp 14 billion and will be completed by
\nthe end of next year, but for the moment, due to the rainy
\nseason, three portable pumps have been installed to make it
\npartly ready,\" Soeharto explained.(yns)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/problems-hinder-anti-flood-programs-1447893297",
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