Governor hopes central government will promptly address estuaries in Aceh to prevent flooding
Banda Aceh (ANTARA) - Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf, or Mualem, has requested the central government to expedite the handling of estuaries/kuala in several areas of Aceh that are becoming shallow in order to prevent recurrent flooding.
“As we hope, if the estuaries on the seaside are not addressed, this is a problem. If we do not fix it perfectly, it becomes another threat (of flooding disaster),” said Mualem in Banda Aceh on Thursday.
The statement was delivered by Mualem while opening the deliberation on development planning (Musrenbang) for the Aceh government’s work plan (RKPA) 2027, at Anjong Mon Mata, the Governor of Aceh’s Office, Banda Aceh.
He explained that so far, water flowing from upstream to the estuary has been held back due to blockages, so the water does not flow to the sea.
Ironically, one large estuary has to accommodate water from up to five other estuaries. Even, empty land nearby can change function to become an estuary due to overflow.
This condition, he continued, also impacts the activities of fishermen who have to wait for high tide to go to sea. Thus, they have difficulty earning a living.
“The most fatal is for the fishermen. They wait for the tide to ebb and flow, high tide to go out, wait for high tide again to catch fish, to earn a living,” he said.
Mualem recounted that he has worked hard to obtain permission from the central government for estuary dredging. Because, if not handled immediately, flooding in the future has the potential to cause more severe impacts.
“So I have worked hard to get permission from the centre for estuary dredging, sometimes it happens, sometimes not. If we don’t fix it, see what happens. Water is held back, water doesn’t know where to flow,” he said.
“Regents and Mayors all, we must go to Jakarta, to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, we must request that so it happens quickly. Because if it’s slow, a very heavy disaster will occur again,” he stressed.
“This is homework for all of us, especially we hope to the centre, Jakarta, to pay serious attention to us here in Aceh,” Mualem concluded.