Problems hinder anti-flood programs
Problems hinder anti-flood programs
JAKARTA (JP): Various factors, ranging from reckless housing
development to the community's bad habits hinder the city
administration's efforts to protect certain areas prone to
floods, an official said yesterday.
Chief of the city public works office, Soeharto told reporters
many factors hinder the administration's efforts to eliminate
flood problems in the city's flood prone areas.
"The development of housing complexes in the city are partly
responsible for causing floods because several of them are built
without proper sewage networks," Soeharto said after accompanying
members of the city council visiting dam projects in North
Jakarta. The visit was undertaken to inspect preparations of
anticipated floods during this year's rainy season.
"The developers have no intentions of building such facilities
even though the complex locations are very low," Soeharto said,
refusing to give details.
He also stressed that the community's bad habits toward
cleanliness, such as disposing of waste thoughtlessly and
building houses along river banks, constitute as other causes of
floods.
"Most of the 13 rivers passing through Jakarta are in bad
condition. They are filled with garbage," he said. The only
solution to the problems is to rehabilitate the rivers by
dredging and widening them.
During yesterday's visit, council members went to the Sunter
river project, which has been widened from its previous 15 meters
to 23 meters and has been dredged down to five meters.
Soeharto said there are at least 10 artificial dams in North
Jakarta, including Sunter Timur I, II, III and Warakas.
Soeharto explained that the Warakas dam project, to be
expanded to cover 31 hectares, is designed to protect a total of
1,250 hectares of areas, including the Kebon Bawang area.
"We have to build five inlet channels in that dam project," he
said. But another channel into Sunter II cannot be built because
the location, earmarked for construction of the channel, is
already used as a housing complex so that we are forced to
install two temporary pumps with two water gates," he explained.
He added the temporary project is worth Rp 1 billion.
The 8-hectare Sunter I dam project is designed to protect a
total of 200 hectares of areas, including the Navy housing
complex in Kodamar.
"The project is worth Rp 14 billion and will be completed by
the end of next year, but for the moment, due to the rainy
season, three portable pumps have been installed to make it
partly ready," Soeharto explained.(yns)