Houses on riverbank to be removed: Official
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta's city administration announced on Wednesday that it had made plans to clear Jakarta river banks of temporary dwellings in an attempt to minimize flooding in the city.
"This year alone we'll get rid of hundreds of houses along the West Flood Canal in North Jakarta," Public Works Agency chief Suena said here on Wednesday.
He noted that the eviction of hundreds of squatters in the Penjagalan area had been included in his office's agenda for the remaining months of this year.
"By the end of this year, all the remaining houses, which span one kilometer of the canal, will be cleared," the newly-installed Suena said.
He added that the eviction orders would be carried out also because the area was Jakarta's main gate for visitors from the Soekarno-Hatta International airport and it was eyesore.
He said, in the near future, hundreds of temporary houses located along Ciliwung river would also be demolished while other houses in the city's 12 remaining rivers would soon be destroyed as well.
"I hope the economic situation will improve soon, so residents can afford to rent proper houses, rather squatting on river banks," he said.
In addition to the land clearance along the river banks, Suena said his agency was currently working on several projects to handle flooding throughout the upcoming rainy season, which include improving drainage systems and installing water pumps in key areas.
He hoped by the end of this year, several areas in the city's five mayoralties would no longer be prone to flooding.
He said the projects included setting up water pumps in Kebon Baru, South Jakarta as well as the Kali Item and Bidara Cina areas of East Jakarta.
The agency is currently installing pipelines through the Kebon Melati dike in Tanah Abang to reduce flooding along Jl. Thamrin. They had also begun installing drainage systems in the Pademangan area of North Jakarta and the Fatmawati area of South Jakarta.
Suena pointed out that the 2001 City Budget had allocated Rp 210 billion (US$21 million) for general maintenance and the construction of new facilities to combat flooding.
He said the fund included Rp 40 billion for a 3-hectare land acquisition for the East Flood Canal project which was planned in 1986.
"We hope the East Flood Canal project can be completed in five years," Suena said.
He said the canal project, which requires some Rp 1.3 trillion more money, was vital for the city to be free from flooding.
He explained that the west and the east canals could accommodate water from the city's 13 rivers before the water flows into the sea.
"Flood control measures were not effective in the past because it was handled by the central government. We (the city government) were only given the responsibility two years ago," he said.