Ministry's aid for flood victims has yet to arrive

Ministry's aid for flood victims has yet to arrive

JAKARTA (JP): Deputy Governor for Social Welfare, R. Museno, yesterday urged the Ministry of Social Services to provide the promised aid for flood victims to the city administration as soon as possible.

Museno said that the city administration has not yet received anything from the Ministry of Social Services since the biggest floods hit many parts of the city on Saturday night.

The deputy governor's statements contradicted the Minister of Social Services Inten Soeweno who said that his office had distributed 13 tons of rice to the flood victims. Inten said this when visiting the flood-hit areas on Monday.

Inten had also called on the public to give clothes to the flood victims.

Minister of Health Sujudi said earlier that he had asked his subordinates to distribute medicine to the flood victims.

Any official aid should go to the City Hall first, and the City Hall will distribute it to the needy families, the deputy governor said.

Some families in Bidara Cina, one of the most devastated areas in East Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that they had received no food stuffs or medicine from the government.

Sori Siregar, the families' spokesman, said that the residents, led by their own neighborhood chiefs, have been asking for food from families in neighboring areas.

Kebon Baru, another flood-hit area in South Jakarta, was not much better than Bidara Cina.

"The residents have not yet received food or medicine from the government. The electricity has been disrupted since Sunday, and the residents' activities have not returned to normal," Asep, a resident, said. (yns/29)