Floods increase number of poor

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