Cloud seedling last option

Cloud seedling last option

JATILUHUR, West Java: The government considers that cloud
seedling will be the last resort in overcoming water shortages in
West Java's major reservoirs.

Drought has affected at least 22,000 hectares of rice fields
which depend on water from the Jatiluhur reservoir, Antara
reported yesterday.

West Java is a key rice-growing area.

The water levels in the Saguling and Cirata reservoirs have
also dropped significantly.

"This year's drought is likely to be similar to the droughts
in 1991," Jatiluhur Authority chief Muhamad Ulama said yesterday.

The water volumes in the Cibeet, Bekasi, Cikarang, Cipunegara
and other big rivers in West Java had dropped drastically from 40
cubic meters of water a second to 10 cubic meters a second, Ulama
said.

"We hope that farmers will use the water more efficiently," he
said. (06)