Drought and floods

Drought and floods

From Kompas

It is still fresh in the memory of Jakartans how the big floods hit this city early this year. Now, Jakarta and most parts of Indonesia are facing drought. Clean ground water is hard to find. Rice fields cannot be irrigated.

Well, when floods come, the government is busy trying to find a scapegoat. The measures they have taken, purportedly to avoid floods, are usually haphazard although great funds are needed for this purpose.

Actually, during the dry season -- or even when drought has set in -- the government can make preparations against floods. Rivers are dry and they can be easily dredged. In this way, floods in Jakarta may be averted during the next rainy season.

EMAN SULISTIANI, Depok, West Java