'People should also be blamed for floods'

Heavy rains, predicted to fall until the end of this month, will remain a great worry to those city residents living in flood- prone areas. The Jakarta Post asked some residents for their suggestions on how to combat the annual disaster.

Tohid, 30, was formerly employed at a mineral water company in East Jakarta. He is now unemployed and lives in the Sunter subdistrict of North Jakarta:

I think we should not blame the government alone, but also the residents themselves for the annual flooding.

The city's overpopulation has contributed much to the worsening flood problems. I cannot conceive of how so many millions of people crowd the city.

The riverbanks are now brimming with illegal settlers as they try to make a living in the capital. They, in many ways, make the rivers worse, particularly during the rainy season.

Worse still, they are generally unaware of how to dump their wastes properly, and don't care about how dirty the city has become because of their infringement of city regulations.

I think it's too difficult to overcome the flood problems here, due to complex factors involved.

One possible thing the city administration can do, is to relocate the factories located in the city to the outskirts in an effort to reduce the population here. If the factories are relocated, their workers will also move. Besides, those factories have destroyed the water catchment areas.

In addition, the government should also evict or relocate the illegal settlers from the city's riverbanks in order to free up the flow of the rivers.

Otherwise, the runoffs will overflow into many parts of the city during every rainy season, and the people and the administration will only continue to blame each other, while the problem remains unsolved.

Manan, 32, is a chicken noodle-soup vendor in Grogol, West Jakarta. He has left his wife and two children in his hometown in East Java to come work in the capital:

I have been living in the city for almost 20 years and there is nothing special to note on the flood problems.

I think Jakarta is a city that will never be separated from floods. I have just returned from my hometown, where my house was flooded a few days ago, with the water reaching half-a-meter deep. I wasn't shocked at all. I just keep on working. Let's hope I can find a safer place to live, while working as usual.

But the flooding has gotten worse, year by year. It seems that the city administration has never realized that Jakarta is prone to annual flooding.

The city's dense population and the residents' undisciplined manner in throwing out their garbage have partly contributed to the severity of the floods, I think. I see every day how the increasing amounts of garbage block the river current.

I believe the city administration should better make larger canals and waterways, which are free from any settlements, to channel the water to the sea.

Otherwise, the problems will continue to annoy me every day, like now, and besides, more and more people in the city will live under increasingly miserable conditions.

Ucok Nainggolan, 21, runs a newsstand, selling newspaper and magazines near the Citraland shopping center in West Jakarta. He lives with his brother in West Jakarta:

I think the flood problems in Jakarta are almost impossible to solve, because the city floods every year, without fail.

I'm sure it is the government's responsibility to cope with the problem because the government is much more knowledgeable in seeing the bigger picture of the entire city. It has the power to create policies to be implemented.

However, I don't really know what should or could be done to solve the flooding problem.

I've become apathetic about the condition, and that's why I don't have any suggestions for the administration.

I'm busy trying to earn a living, and it seems that the solution to this problem is beyond my capacity. I don't care about the city's problems, including the floods, as long as my house is not affected and I can work as usual.

However, I cannot deny that I'm a bit worried about the flood this year, as a few days ago, this place (newsstand location) got flooded, too.

Eky, 28, works at a private company in West Jakarta. He lives in Srengseng, West Jakarta, with his wife and son:

I disagree with the administration, which describes the annual flooding as an unsolvable problem.

It's better for the city governor to take some real action instead of speaking such nonsense.

One possible solution is to move or relocate the illegal settlements from the riverbanks to the outer areas of Greater Jakarta.

Perhaps the administration could provide low-cost apartments for them, or maybe those dwellers can be relocated to safer housing areas outside Jakarta.

I feel sorry for those unfortunate city residents who suffer severe floods every rainy season, but they should also help the government in finding a solution.

Otherwise, the flooding will remain the worst recurring nightmare for many residents.