Children's Laughter at Situ Ciburuy as It Shrinks During the Dry Season
The waters of Situ Ciburuy in Padalarang, West Bandung Regency (KBB), West Java, are receding due to the dry season. Children are taking advantage of the conditions to play and even catch fish in the lake, which was built during the Dutch colonial era.
Cheerful laughter could be heard from the northern side of Situ Ciburuy, which has dried into an expanse of land. There, children could be seen happily at play. Some made small pools out of mud, others played football, rode rafts, fished along the edges, and swam in the receding, shallow lake.
Such activities are common for children during the school holidays and in the late afternoon once the heat of the sun begins to fade. For them, the receding of Situ Ciburuy, which has produced a stretch of dry land, is free entertainment unavailable when water levels are high.
“Yes, I’m playing with my friends. I come here every day after school, and during the holidays I also play here in the morning,” said Muhammad Faturahman (13), one of the children, speaking to Republika on Sunday (19/7).
The shrinking water level of the 25-hectare lake occurs every prolonged dry season because it relies entirely on rainwater. Its depth is said to be reduced to only around one to two metres as the dry season continues to erode its water discharge.
Faturahman and other children have even dared to swim, though not as far as the middle of Situ Ciburuy. The spots where they swim are only as deep as the children’s necks, with safety still being observed.
“It’s not deep now, the water only reaches here (the neck), so we dare to swim,” said Faturahman.
When lucky, he and his friends often catch small fish, which they usually take home to cook. “We sometimes get small fish to eat at home. Boboso, snakehead, tilapia, and even lobster,” he said.
The head of Ciburuy village, Firmansyah, said the shrinking of Situ Ciburuy’s water indeed always occurs during a prolonged dry season. At its worst, the island in the middle of the lake can even be reached on foot.
“That’s how it is in the dry season. At its worst, you can walk to the island, and the remaining water is only in the front area,” said Firmansyah.