Receding water at the Karian Dam in Lebak Regency, Banten, due to the\ndry season has prompted residents to revisit their former homes, which\nhave now resurfaced. They are reminiscing as they see the remains of\ntheir house structures no longer submerged.<\/p>\n
At the bottom of the Karian Dam, traces of community life have been\nfound. A number of house structures are visible, with only walls\nremaining; the roofs and shapes are no longer the same. Not only houses,\nbut a mosque building is also visible on the ground. This dry season\nallows residents to recall old stories at the location they once\noccupied.<\/p>\n
The houses were abandoned by residents in 2023. The village was\nvacated because it was converted into a water catchment area for the\nKarian Dam. \u2018The location is at the end of the inundation area of\nSukarame Village and Sukajaya Village, Sajira District, already in the\nupstream area, and it was originally a densely populated settlement,\u2019\nsaid Maretha Ayu Kusumawati, Head of General Affairs and Administration\nfor the Cidanau Ciujung Cidurian River Basin Agency (BBWS C3).<\/p>\n
These structures were not demolished when they were submerged.\nOfficers only cleared the plants in the area. \u2018The condition of the\nentire inundation area, although already acquired, did not involve\ndemolishing all affected buildings. The clearing process carried out by\nthe construction team only involved the vegetation,\u2019 she said. Maretha\nAyu mentioned that the water in the reservoir has currently receded by\nonly about 5 percent. This condition makes the abandoned house\nstructures clearly visible. \u2018At the flood water level of the reservoir,\nsome houses will be submerged because the height difference from the\nnormal water level is about 3.35 metres. Currently, the elevation has\ndropped about 80 cm from the normal water level,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
Several residents have returned to visit their former village. A\nresident who used to live in the dam area, Odon, said that usually only\nthe mosque roofs were visible when the water was deep. \u2018A lot has\nemerged, like in Susukan Village, Karian, it\u2019s reappeared because the\nwater has receded. Then Somang, Sukajaya Village\u2026 Somang is half\nvisible. Sukarame too,\u2019 said Odon. Odon\u2019s house was in Bolang Village,\nlocated in the middle of the dam. Although his house is not currently\nvisible, he visited the receded dam two weeks ago. \u2018Yes, reminiscing,\nremembering the land of my birth,\u2019 said Odon. Odon and many other\nresidents did not move far from their old location. They bought houses\nagain near the Karian Dam. Odon said residents usually use rafts when\nvisiting the dam, guessing where their old houses were located. \u2018The\nresidents there make rafts, and those who have money buy boats,\u2019 he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
This is the first time the settlement has clearly emerged since it\nwas submerged in 2023. The condition occurred due to the prolonged dry\nseason. \u2018It seems due to the extreme dry season, this is the first time\nit has been visible,\u2019 said Dedi Yudha Lesmana, Head of the Cidanau\nCiujung Cidurian River Basin Agency (BBWSC3). He said that previously,\nonly parts of the buildings were visible in Sukarame Village and\nSukajaya Village, Sajira District. Now, although still submerged by\nabout 5 percent water, the buildings are quite clearly visible. Dedi\nstated that the reservoir water condition is still safe for irrigation\nin the surrounding area. \u2018If the downstream area requires more water, it\ncan still be released from Karian,\u2019 Dedi said.<\/p>\n
BBWSC3 claims the water supply and storage in the Karian Dam are\nstill safe for raw water needs and irrigation supply to the Ciujung\nIrrigation Area. The phenomenon of buildings reappearing at the bottom\nof the dam is a normal condition and does not indicate any disruption to\nthe dam\u2019s function. Dedi said the total water discharge released is 24\ncubic metres per second as irrigation supplementation from the Karian\nDam intake to the Pamarayan Baru Weir to serve the Ciujung Irrigation\nArea. He said the water needs for agricultural land in the service area\ncan still be met. \u2018Currently, the Karian Dam\u2019s storage is still safe to\nmeet raw water and irrigation needs. The drop in water level of about 80\ncentimetres from the normal elevation is a common occurrence during the\ndry season and is still within the safe operational limits of the\nreservoir,\u2019 said Dedi.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/submerged-village-in-lebak-re-emerges-due-to-drought-1785282718", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }