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Fri, 13 Mar 1998

JP/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)