Floods increase number of poor

JAKARTA: The recent floods that hit the capital have led to a sharp increase in the number of people living below the poverty line, particularly in North Jakarta.

There are currently 37,886 poor families in North Jakarta, compared to 29,350 families before the flooding, according to Setiawan Hadi Prayitno of the mayoralty's Bureau of Statistics.

On Wednesday, he told BeritaJakarta.com, the official site of the Jakarta administration, that most of the poor families lived in Penjaringan, Pejagalan, Cilincing and Rawa Buaya.

Dewi Ayu Diah, the deputy head of the North Jakarta Social Affairs Agency, said the administration had provided assistance for all of the flood victims, including the poor.

But she added that she had not received reports from the districts and subdistricts about the use of the funds.

The government allocated a huge sum of flood-recovery funds, but reportedly not all of the money has reached the intended targets.

Earlier on Wednesday, Governor Sutiyoso received Rp 1 billion in stationery and other goods from Sewu New York Life. The items are to help students who were affected by the floods.--JP