Ciliwung residents likely to experience floods again

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of people living along the riverbanks of the Ciliwung may not be able to avoid the floods with the wet season fast approaching as the City Administration has not been able to clear the clogged sections that block the flow of water.

The worst affected areas are the river sections between the Kampung Melayu subdistrict in East Jakarta up to the Kali Pasir subdistrict in Central Jakarta, where the mud has not been dredged since the late 1970s.

"It is difficult for you to cross the river as the water is only about a half meter deep, while the mud goes about a meter deep," said Muhammad Buyung Fadlollah, a man living along the Ciliwung river in the Manggarai subdistrict, South Jakarta.

This section of the river is not included on the central government's list of priority areas requiring dredging in anticipation of the floods that are likely to return during the upcoming wet season.

The head of the City Public Works Agency IGKG Suena said the government had allocated Rp 70 billion for dredging a number of waterways.

They include the Western Flood Canal from Manggarai to Karet subdistrict in Central Jakarta, the Ciliwung river as it runs along Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta, Kali Angke and several other smaller tributaries in the capital.

The condition of the Ciliwung past the Manggarai floodgates is very poor. During this dry season, the width of the river has shrunk from 30 meters to only six.

Locals have used the new space along the dried mud edges of the river to plant bananas, papayas and a variety of vegetables. Others have used the space to raise ducks and chickens.

Buyung, who has been living in the area since the 1960s, said the mud that had been dredged did not flow to other areas, but instead has flowed back into the same part.

"Floods happen almost each year, but the last one in February was the worst, and the water came up to the ceiling of my house," Buyung told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The river is becoming choked with silt and mud, and sections are narrowing, which is causing several bottlenecks along the way.

"We hope that there will not be any more huge floods next year. But that is just a hope as the condition of the river here has not gotten any better," said Budi, Buyung's neighbor.

The worst affected area is the Ciliwung between Manggarai up to Kampung Melayu, where hundreds of homes are sprawled along the riverbanks.

Apart from using water from the river for washing the dishes, the people also dump human waste and other household garbage into the river daily.

"We do it (dumping trash) every day and so do the other people here. I don't think dumping garbage into the river will worsen the floods," said Aminah, a woman living in the Kampung Melayu district.

Ciliwung is the longest river in the city, with its source in the Puncak area of Bogor, West Java. From Bogor the river passes through Depok in West Java, Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta, Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta and Manggarai in South Jakarta.

From Manggarai, the river flows along a number of roads, such as Jl. Diponegoro, Jl. Raden Saleh, Jl. Kali Pasir, Jl. Pejambon and Jl. Perwira, where it forks into two smaller streams.

The first part passes beside the Istiqlal Mosque, Jl. Veteran I, Jl. Juanda, Jl. Jl. Hayam Wuruk/Gadjah Mada and Jl. Mangga Besar. The other part passes beside the Istiqlal Mosque and runs along Jl. Pos, Jl. Dr. Sutomo and Jl. Gunung Sahari.

The streams end in Kali Ancol, which leads to the Jakarta Straits.

Some historians say that the Ciliwung river has existed since the era of the Taruma Negara Kingdom in 4th century. The kingdom, which had its capital in Bogor, used the Ciliwung as its main source of water transportation for travel from the city to the coastal areas.