HI fountain down due to cut cable

HI fountain down due to cut cable

After keeping the whole affair silent for the last two weeks, the
Jakarta administration claimed on Thursday that someone had tried
to steal a power cable attached to the giant fountain at the
Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, and that was why it was not
operating.

Assistant to the City Secretary for Development Affairs IGKG
Suena said that the alleged thieves, who have not been caught and
there are no witnesses, had apparently tried to steal the main
cable that connects the power generator and the fountain's main
power board in a subterranean maintenance area.

The alleged perpetrators were inexplicably unsuccessful in
their quest to take the cable, but did cut it and do enough
damage for the fountain to fall silent.

Suena's assumption of thieves being at fault was based on the
value of the power line. "The cable alone is priced at more than
Rp 100 million (US$10,846)," he explained.

He added that he would soon report the case to the City
Secretary, Ritola Tasmaya, so they could discuss where to get the
money to replace the damaged cable.

But first, he said, the City Park Agency would have to find
out the cost of a new cable from the officials at the state
electricity company PLN.

The traffic circle is one of the capital's icons, and a
favorite spot of demonstrations. The city administration spent Rp
14 billion to renovate it in 2002 and construct the lavish water
fountain.

The beautification project was financed fully by private
sponsors, but caused a brief controversy because it was still
listed as a budget item in the City budget.

Critics also blasted the administration for putting more
attention to beautification projects over projects of greater
impact to the public, like flood mitigation or poverty
alleviation. --JP