Legislators blast govt for failing to control floods

Legislators blast govt for failing to control floods

JAKARTA (JP): Members of the House of Representatives yesterday blasted the government for failing to prevent the floods which have hit Jakarta this rainy season.

Legislators from the state budgetary commission in a hearing with Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar yesterday said the government should have been more wary of such disasters.

They also questioned the city's flood-prevention system and the lack of infrastructure to cope with the situation.

"We can't just say this is simply a natural disaster. There are obviously man-made errors involved," said legislator Potsdam Hutasoit from the Golkar faction.

Other House members, including R.P. Soebagio, Marwan Adam and Ni Gusti Ayu Eka Sukmadewi, urged the government to spend whatever was necessary to solve the problem of floods in the country's capital.

The floods that inundated Jakarta over the weekend, which reached depths of 1.5 meters in places, reportedly killed six people.

Hutasoit said the government and city authorities should pay more attention to Jakarta's poor drainage system, which he named as the main cause of last week's floods.

Last month, Jakarta was hit by floods which killed up to 10 people. But authorities said the floods "came down" from Bogor and were not caused by rain in Jakarta.

Marwan from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction also said the government should not hesitate to make large investments to stop further floods.

"The government should build the Banjir Kanal Timur (Eastern flood canal) as part of the eastern flood control system if it has to," he added.

Radinal yesterday explained that in 1973 the city government had planned to build the Banjir Kanal Barat (Western flood canal) for the western flood control system and the Banjir Kanal Timur in the east to protect the city from worse flooding.

However, the government decided to halt the Eastern canal project on grounds of cost.

"The construction of the 28-km East canal is now too difficult... Some Rp 1 trillion (US$436.68 million) is needed for land appropriation alone," he said.

Radinal said the government is currently dredging the Angke, Muara Karang, Ciliwung Gunung Sahari and Ciliwung Pasar Ikan rivers and the Ancol drain. It is also repairing the Manggarai, Karet, Kapitol and Pasar Ikan sluice gates.

"We have only been able to handle 25 percent of Jakarta's flood-prone areas... This is because the city's drainage system is a mess," he admitted to reporters.

He said up to 40 percent, or 24,000 hectares, of the city's area are located in lowlands. Certain places in North Jakarta are on tide level, or even up to one meter below the line. (pwn)