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)