Gardens to get clean water

Many species at the Bogor Botanical Gardens are unhealthy due to the use of heavily polluted water, an official from the gardens' conservation center said on Friday.

Sudjati Budi Susetyo said that the gardens were using water from the Cibalok river, which is polluted with household waste. As a result, many species, such as the Amazon water lily, are not growing properly. It is also feared that the deer roaming in the garden might be affected by the polluted water as well, he said.

The Bogor Botanical Gardens are expected to get clean water this year when pipes to the Katulampa dam, located about five kilometers away, are laid.

He said that the project to lay the pipes would start later this year, allowing water from the Katulampa dam to run directly to Gunting pond, which is the largest pond in the garden.

Another problem facing the botanical gardens is that there are too many sidewalk vendors around an area near its main gate, Sudjati added. "But we don't know how to deal with that. We want to solve the problem, but who do we tell?" --JP