Minister of Public Works urges improvement and greening of dam upstream areas

Central Java (ANTARA) - Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo is urging improvements and greening in upstream dam areas, including through tree planting. “Whenever I visit any dam, I always tell the head of the agency and Perum Jasa Tirta (PJT) to please improve the upstream areas. If no one else is willing to repair or manage them, then you should carry out the improvements upstream, such as planting trees,” Dody said in Karanganyar, Central Java, on Sunday. According to him, if the upstream dam areas are not repaired or greened, it could cause damage to the dam due to sedimentation. “In my personal view, it’s the same thing. If no one does it, sedimentation will be high. In the end, what do I have to do? I have to dredge; I have to hire dredger ships. Should I use my budget to hire dredger ships or plant trees upstream? The choice is ours,” he stated. Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo stated that collaboration between central and local governments is a solution to handling sedimentation or the deposition of materials that could impact dam operations. Dody said that sedimentation control must be carried out in a structured and massive pattern so that the work mechanism can run optimally. Collaboration, according to him, can be done through an environmental preservation pattern, where development processes in the regions still consider the needs and extent of land that serves as water catchment areas. Dody stated that the Ministry of Public Works is committed to involving relevant agencies under each local government in resolving sedimentation issues in dam areas in Indonesia. Cooperation between the central and local governments will optimise the existence of monitoring devices that have been widely installed in dams.