Flood-hit areas attract governor's attention
Flood-hit areas attract governor's attention
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso inspected yesterday
residential areas in East Jakarta which were inundated by
floodwaters early this week.
The first area the governor visited was Kramatjati district.
He walked along alleyways and listened to the complaints of local
residents whose houses were affected.
Head of Kramatjati district Daeng Husin Umar told the governor
that people wanted the city administration to divert the flow of
Cipinang River to prevent flooding in the area.
Sutiyoso said that he agreed in principle with the proposal.
Local people, whose land is affected, will be moved to land
reclaimed from the unused part of the river, he said.
"I hope no one will suffer financial losses because of the
work."
In Kramatjati district there were 420 houses affected by the
flood, with water levels reaching between one meter and 1.5
meters on Sunday.
Sutiyoso then went to Dukuh subdistrict also in Kramatjati
district. The houses there are hit by floods every year.
The governor told the people that he would fulfill their
request to raise the level of the existing dikes along the
Cipinang River to prevent flooding.
Deputy Governor for Welfare Affairs Djailani also visited the
flood-affected area in Papanggo subdistrict, North Jakarta.
"You have to be ready to face this rainy season. I want you to
all start cleaning out the gutters and, please, don't litter
everywhere," he said.
Djailani also visited Sunter Lake and two of the rivers in
North Jakarta, Item and Sunter.
He told North Jakarta Mayor Soebagio to divert the water flow
between Item River and Sunter River to avoid the strong currents
that can cause flooding in nearby areas.
"You (the mayor) can do it under the labor-intensive project
here... it will be more efficient because we have the manpower
here," Djailani said while watching the workers cleaning out
Sunter River.
Djailani than headed to Central Jakarta to check on the flood
control station on Jl. Cideng to check on its preparations for
the current rainy season. (ind/edt)