Construction of Jatigede dam urged
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java
Regents and councillors in the areas along the north Java coast demanded on Tuesday that the central government expedite construction of Jatigede dam, located in Sumedang regency.
The calls were made after extensive flooding occurred in several regencies in West Java province, including Indramayu.
Indramayu regent Irianto M.S. Syafiuddin said that the construction of Jatigede dam could help prevent seasonal flooding in the area. It could also overcome drought problems, especially in Indramayu and Cirebon regencies.
Indramayu was one of the regencies along the north Java coast hardest hit by flooding this year.
Floods affected the regency last week, inundating at least 106 subdistricts. Some 23,000 hectares of paddy field were also submerged. The floods have largely subsided.
Cirebon regent Dedi Supardi shared similar comments with Irianto. "Drought and flooding have been classic problems in our regency. We have to try and stop them," he said.
He argued that if the dam were constructed, it could overcome drought and flooding problems in at least four regencies, namely Indramayu, Subang, Cirebon and Karawang.
In Cirebon regency, several districts are liable to flooding, namely Kapetakan, Susukan, Arjawinangun, North Cirebon, Astanajapura and Pabedilan districts, he complained.
This year, Pabedilan was the hardest hit by floods.
"Hundreds of hectares of paddy field here were inundated. The flooding has also affected dwellings, causing almost Rp 1 billion-worth of damage," said the regent.
Support for the construction of the dam has also come from top councillors. Maskub Buntoro, the speaker of Cirebon regency council, regretted that the central government had ignored demands by people from those areas.
"We have pressed the central government to start construction of the dam for 10 years, but it has fallen on deaf ears," he said, adding that the dam could be the best solution to end prolonged drought and flooding problems.
The central government has paid some attention to the demands. Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno has visited the area several times and expressed central government readiness to build the dam.
But he referred to several conditions. He said that in order that the dam be built soon, regencies in flood-prone and drought- affected areas would have to persuade 5,000 residents to vacate their homes in the area where the dam was due to be built.
He said that if this problem were overcome, then the central government would speed up construction of the dam.
The construction will require at least 6,000 hectares of land. It will cost Rp 600 billion, and take five years to complete.
Acquisition of land owned by the 5,000 families in the area has not been included in the budget.
The dam would catch 650 million cubic meter of water, including that from the Cimanuk River. It will supply 90,000 hectares of paddy field in the north Java coastal area, including Indramayu, Cirebon, Majalengka, Subang, Karawang and Sumedang regencies.