Traffic jams block northern Central Java roads<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Batang\/Kudus<\/p>\n
Devastating floods have destroyed the main roads linking Semarang
\nand Surabaya along the north coast of Central Java, causing
\nsevere traffic congestion in several regencies in the province.<\/p>\n
Many large deep holes were found in the streets in Semarang,
\nDemak, Kudus and Pati that had been inundated by flooding over
\nthe last three weeks.<\/p>\n
Only soil and gravel remained on the streets after the floods
\nswept away the asphalt.<\/p>\n
The badly damaged roads forced all vehicles, particularly big
\ntrucks, traveling between Semarang and Surabaya through the
\nnorthern coastal road in Central Java to move at a snail-like
\npace.<\/p>\n
This worsened the already bad situation as all the smaller
\nvehicles had to move very slowly because the big vehicles took up
\nmost of the road.<\/p>\n
As an example, it took between three and four hours to travel
\nfrom Kudus to neighboring Demak by car due to heavy traffic. The
\n25-kilometer journey used to take only 30 minutes or less than
\none hour.<\/p>\n
A long queue of vehicles started from Kudus town square to
\nareas far outside the city.<\/p>\n
It was not clear when the local administration will begin
\nrepairing the damaged streets although they were no longer
\nflooded. Nor was it clear how much money would be needed to
\nrepair the damage.<\/p>\n
To avoid being trapped in traffic, many small cars took an
\nalternative route via Purwodadi regency in the southern part of
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
This route was less congested, even though the road was in a
\nsimilar condition with many large potholes.<\/p>\n
Flash floods on Sunday cut off rail travel on Central Java's
\nnorthern coastline in Batang regency, leaving many trains
\ncanceled or delayed. The state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia
\n(KAI) has began repairing the damaged tracks.<\/p>\n
Until late Tuesday evening, rail travel had not yet resumed.<\/p>\n
Makbul Sujudi, KAI head of operations for region IV in
\nSemarang, had said the damaged tracks would be able to be used
\nagain by late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The repair work on the tracks above the Kali Urang river
\ncontinued as KAI personnel were working to sink buffer pillars.<\/p>\n
However, KAI officials said the repaired railroad would be
\ntested on Tuesday's night.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile at the Tawang railway station in Batang, only a few
\npeople were seen purchasing train tickets to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
An employee at the local ticket booth said that up until 1
\np.m. on Tuesday only 11 people had bought tickets for Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, the Central Java provincial administration
\nprovided Rp 8.2 billion in fund relief funds on Tuesday for 11
\nregencies and municipalities in the province that were affected
\nby floods and landslides.<\/p>\n
The assistance was delivered during a meeting between Central
\nJava Governor Mardiyanto and the 11 regents and mayors.<\/p>\n
He asked the regency governments to review the decision to
\ngive mining and development licenses for private companies in an
\neffort to prevent more floods in the future.<\/p>\n
\"The recent floods and landslides were almost all linked to
\ndeforestation and the destruction of catchment areas,\" Mardiyanto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Deputy Central Java Governor Mulyadi Widodo, told the press he
\nhad asked the provincial legislative council to approve the use
\nof Rp 225 billion in reserve funds to rebuild and repair houses
\nand public facilities swept away by the floods.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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