Ciliwung River home to locals' floating toilets
Ciliwung River home to locals' floating toilets
Text and photo by Ida Indawaty Khouw
JAKARTA (JP): Houses without toilets are commonplace for many
living in Jakarta slums, so much so that they are forced to erect
public toilets or relieve themselves in rivers.
Located near the hustle and bustle of the Jatinegara area
where only a small number of private homes have toilets, for
years Kebon Pala residents living along the Ciliwung River have
found it impossible to install toilets on their premises either
due to poverty or the narrowness of their homes.
They instead make use of the murky river and have built
floating toilets which have become the center of much activity.
About 10 floating toilets are scattered around the area, which
also has public bathhouses, popularly known as Mandi Cuci Kakus
(MCK, bathe, wash, toilet).
"Each community group has its own MCK but there are not any
here, furthermore we should pay for the public ones while here is
free," local youth Fadillah told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The floating toilets are constructed on bamboo poles tightly
fasten together by thick rope.
To keep the bamboo raft in one location afloat, scores of used
tires are tied along the raft's sides and three layers of used
rafts are stacked underneath.
"We pile a new raft on top of an old broken one, we discard
the very bottom one after there are three layers. The raft
usually breaks after two years," said Fadillah.
He said local residents made the floating toilets themselves
after collecting money from community members, adding that one
raft cost Rp 450,000.
Another resident, Luki, said each alley in the area had its
own floating toilet and it had became the responsibility of
community members to finance repairs.
On Monday, head of the city office of the Ministry of Health
Dedy Ruswendi said some three million Jakartans, or 30 percent of
the capital's residents, relieved themselves in rivers or canals,
causing water pollution.
The condition is the main cause of diarrhea in the city, with
the incidence rate at 16.5 per 1,000 people, the office data
revealed.
Kebon Pala residents said that floating toilets were a better
choice than building MCKs.
"Building MCKs is more expensive, the waste is also released
into the same river. Moreover, we've had floating toilets for
years," said resident Mutholib.
As with most rivers in the city, the Ciliwung River, which
flows through Kebon Pala subdistrict, is utilized for many
activities like bathing, washing clothes and dumping garbage.
From quite a distance, a bad odor from human waste and garbage
can be smelled emitting from the murky river.
It is not uncommon for children, who swim almost daily in the
river, to suffer skin disease.
Eight-year-old Aji happily swims in the river with his
friends, oblivious to people relieving themselves in the upper
reaches of the river.
Aji said he considered swimming in a river full of filth
nothing to worry about.
"It's easy, if we see human feces floating around, we just
swim to the other side. The water itself is clean, isn't it?" he
said.
Another resident Mak Mimi said it was common for babies to
suffer from diarrhea.
"A baby will recover after being treated at community health
centers, even though some have died. God is generous in that it
seems we are immune to disease," she said.(ind)