Botanical Garden ponds polluted

BOGOR: Hundreds of deer at the Presidential Palace in Bogor and plants in the neighboring Botanical Gardens were under threat due to pollution from household wastewater, management of the West Java gardens said Tuesday.

The head of general affairs at the Plant Conservation Office at the gardens, Dachriyani Mardi, said the liquid wastes first entered the Gunting pond, located at the rear of the Presidential Palace.

"The Gunting pond is the main water resource for the ponds in the Botanical Gardens, whose water is now polluted," Dachriyani said. Hundreds of palace deer also drank water from the Gunting pond.

He said the Botanical Gardens had four ponds, namely Putri Astrid pond, II Q pond, the mosque pond and mBah Jepra pond.

"We use the pond water for the plants in the garden, but now the water is very dirty. Not only liquid wastes have polluted the Gunting water pond, but also dead animals. The orchids are in danger," he said.

So far there has been no explanation from the Bogor administration about the pollution.

Dachrijani said the situation could deteriorate with the arrival of the dry season, saying the garden lacked water for the plants despite an artesian well built last year. --JP