Houses on riverbank to be removed: Official
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.