Minister plants 11,110 trees

Minister plants 11,110 trees

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar symbolically planted 11,110 trees along the Sunter riverbank, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, Central Jakarta yesterday.

Accompanied by State Minister for Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Deputy Governor Tubagus Rais, Radinal also led the cleaning of a river on Jl. Bunga, East Jakarta.

Radinal said a green campaign is badly needed to curb pollution in the city as the city's green areas have been steadily decreasing.

He said that river cleaning is simultaneously being carried out nationwide as part of the celebration of the ministry's 50th anniversary on Dec. 3.

"Ministry of Public Works offices in the provinces, in cooperation with the local administrations, are carrying out the project," he said.

The head of Jakarta's Ministry of Public Works office, Dargono, who also joined the campaign yesterday. He said the greening project is being carried over an eight-kilometer area along the Sunter river, and the areas around Sunter dam I and III, North Jakarta, the Cengkareng drainage system in East Jakarta and the Melati dam in Central Jakarta. (sur)