City urged to manage flood control project

An official of the Public Works Ministry wants the city administration to take over the management of the Kali Cideng flood control project.

Deputy head of the project, Sahala Sinaga, made the statement in front of members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and reporters who visited the flood control project over the weekend on a press tour organized by Japanese Embassy.

The ministry, according to Sinaga, spends Rp 400 million yearly for the maintenance of the project, which is meant to control floods in Central Jakarta.

The project, which was built with a Rp 50 billion loan from the Japanese government, was inaugurated by President Soeharto in 1989.

Household garbage dumped by residents living in areas along the Cideng river banks, Sinaga said, was another problem faced by the flood control project management. There are six high-powered pumps in the Kali Cideng pump installation.

"The garbage causes the iron bars which function as filters to bend," Sinaga said, adding that he had to hire several workers to clean the garbage from the sluice gates. (03)

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Tebet fire victims keep rebuilding

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Tebet fire victims keep rebuilding

West Tebet fire victims went on rebuilding their burned premises despite the demolition order from the mayoralty.

"We don't have any housing but this. If we are not permitted to build our own houses, where should we live?" one fire victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Dozens of the 230 houses, which went up in flames on May 11, were in the process of being rebuilt on Saturday, while activities at the marketplace, located in the middle of the fire site, appeared to be back to normal.

Graffiti scrawled on the burned walls read God Save Us, Let us rebuild our premises, We have paid our property tax. (jsk)