Where will the flood funds go?<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The floodwaters have begun to recede and the rain's intensity
\nhas started to subside but flood victims still don't know what
\nthe future holds.<\/p>\n
It is true that Governor Sutiyoso has announced Rp 505 billion
\n(US$49 million) in emergency funds but it only raises another
\nquestion: Where will the money go?<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso promised Monday that the funds would be used to
\nrepair public facilities and victims' houses. What remains
\nunclear is how much will be allocated to each family.<\/p>\n
The administration hasn't officially announced the total
\nlosses caused by the biggest flood ever to hit the capital.<\/p>\n
City agencies raced Tuesday to request additional budgets in
\nthe name of \"restoration projects\".<\/p>\n
The City Public Works Agency said it would need at least Rp
\n153 billion to repair roads.<\/p>\n
\"We'll tripled our annual budget of Rp 51 billion to maintain
\nand repair road damaged by floodwaters,\" agency head IGKG Suena
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He claimed damage had been caused to 70 percent of the city's
\nstreets, including the main thoroughfares of Jl. Jend. Sudirman
\nand Jl. MH. Thamrin. Big holes were also spotted on Jl. Ahmad
\nYani in East Jakarta, Jl. Kebon Sirih, Jl. Budi Kemuliaan, Jl.
\nPejompongan in Central Jakarta and Jl. Kyai Tapa in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The agency also needed to repair Jl. TB Simatupang, part of
\nwhich was damaged by a landslide.<\/p>\n
City Sanitation Agency deputy chief Rama Boedi said it would
\nhave to increase its budget by 10 to 20 percent because its 700
\ngarbage trucks were damaged. They did not operate for several
\ndays during the flooding.<\/p>\n
The budget hike was also needed to cover the operational costs
\nof an additional 4,000 cubic meters of rubbish generated by the
\nfloods each day. The average daily rubbish output equals 25,000
\ncubic meters.<\/p>\n
But Rama declined to mention how much extra money he would
\nneed.<\/p>\n
The City Education Agency announced earlier it would use some
\nof its Rp 500 billion 2002 City Budget allocation to repair
\nhundreds of school buildings damaged during the flood.<\/p>\n
The administration had allocated 19 percent of its Rp 9.3
\ntrillion budget for education programs, including to repair
\nschool buildings.<\/p>\n
Despite the great material losses, the floods in Greater
\nJakarta also claimed 33 lives while five others were still
\nmissing. The government has declined to designate the calamity a
\nnational disaster.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) Jakarta chapter
\nchairman Ahmad Safrudin said the Jakarta Flood Advocacy Team,
\ncomprising dozens of NGOs, had drafted a class-action lawsuit
\nagainst the administration for its lack of early warning to
\ncitizens and the poor emergency response.<\/p>\n
The team has received hundreds of complaints but will reduce
\nthat to 30 for the purposes of its lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The class action will demand compensation that is estimated
\nfrom the lack of public services, for example the lack of clean
\nwater. The draft is expected to be completed by Friday.<\/p>\n
Walhi Jakarta itself will also file legal action against the
\nadministration and housing development companies, specially those
\nwhich built Pantai Indah Kapuk housing estate in North Jakarta
\nand several housing complexes in Cibubur, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
As Jakarta slowly returned to normal, despite the rain in the
\nmorning and afternoon, flooding was still seen in some parts of
\nthe city, even though it had receded significantly.<\/p>\n
Floodwater still inundated many buildings, including the
\nRegent Hotel in Kuningan, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Water levels at the city's six floodgates had receded. As of
\nTuesday morning, the highest water level was at the Manggarai
\nwater gate, which was only 30 cm lower than its limit of 800 cm.<\/p>\n
Areas that remained flooded were Petamburan, Karet Tengsin and
\nBendungan Hilir in Central Jakarta; Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, Jl.
\nYos Sudarso, Kelapa Gading, Plumpang, Sunter Jaya, Penjaringan
\nand Pejagalan in North Jakarta; Semanan, Tegal Alur, Kapuk, Rawa
\nBuaya, Duri Kosambi, Kali Angke and Tanjung Duren Utara in West
\nJakarta; Bintaro, Manggarai and Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta;
\nand Jatinegara, Pulogadung and Duren Sawit in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Many schools and offices were yet to open, including the
\noffice for vehicle registration and drivers license applications
\non Jl. Daan Mogot, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said the
\npolice would tolerate all late registrations and applications
\nuntil the office could serve the public.<\/p>\n
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency predicted rain would
\nkeep on falling Wednesday with temperatures between 23 and 31
\ndegrees Celsius while weatherunderground.com issued similar
\nforecasts with a temperature range between 24 and 28 degrees
\nCelsius.<\/p>",
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