Major river dredging to start in Central Java next year
Major river dredging to start in Central Java next year
Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Purwokerto
In a bid to control flooding which has ravaged many regencies
in the southern part of Central Java, the administration plans
clean up three big rivers, the Serayu, Bogowonto and Citanduy.
The head of the provincial office for water resources
management, Nidhom Ashari said here on Thursday that the project
would include dredging, widening and straightening some parts of
the rivers.
"The sedimentation in the three rivers is excessive. The last
dredging was conducted about 50 years ago. Some parts of the
rivers need to be enlarged and straightened. This will need more
land, which we will have to acquire from locals' property," he
said.
The project, scheduled to start next year and to be completed
in 2005, will cost around Rp 350 billion, according to Nidhom.
"Seventy percent of the cost will be covered by a loan from
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the rest will come from the
central government and regional funds," Nidhom said.
"ADB has agreed to provide the funds. Some 30 percent of the
loan could be cashed at any time."
"Land acquisition is included in the total cost," he said.
The project will involve the regencies of Purworejo, Kebumen,
Wonosobo, Banyumas, Cilacap and Purbalingga (all in Central
Java), and Ciamis in West Java, where the Citanduy river flows.
Last month huge floods hit the regencies of Banyumas, Cilacap
and Kebumen, destroying hundreds of houses and forcing thousands
of people to leave their homes.
Deforestation and rampant illegal logging have been blamed for
the disaster.
Nidhom said on Thursday that the forestry office should work
hard to take necessary actions to prevent illegal logging and
deforestation.
"We planned the river cleanup project in 1998. The plan was
put on hold as the economic crisis started to sweep the country,"
he said.
"Now that we all have felt the burden of the recent floods in
the three regencies, we realize that the river cleanup project
can no longer be delayed," he said, referring to the meeting
among some regents and other officials dealing with water
resources and environment management. The meeting took place in
Banyumas on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Central Java Meteorology and Geophysics Agency
has predicted that rainfall in Central Java will be very high in
January.
The agency has urged local administrations to take preventive
actions to minimize possible damage in case floods hit the
vulnerable regencies next year.
According to Nidhom, the dikes destroyed by recent floods must
be repaired as an urgent emergency measure.