Public Works Ministry addresses 1,229 drought-affected locations
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Public Works (PU) is handling 1,229 drought-affected locations, covering the agriculture and residential sectors as well as forest and land fires (karhutla).
Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo said water availability is a crucial foundation for sustaining development, particularly in the agricultural sector, which depends heavily on reliable water supplies.
“Quality water services are the backbone of economic, social and environmental development, especially for regions facing limited water resources and the impacts of climate change,” Dody said in Jakarta on Saturday.
The Ministry of Public Works, through its Directorate General of Water Resources, continues to strengthen its response to drought impacts caused by a strong El Niño across various regions of Indonesia. As of 21 August 2026, 1,229 locations had received assistance, covering agriculture, residential areas and forest and land fires.
According to the ministry’s recapitulation, 1,072 locations have been fully addressed, while 157 remain in progress.
Of the total, drought response measures cover 157 rice field locations, 931 residential areas and 141 forest and land fire sites. The efforts have helped save approximately 41,252 hectares of rice fields and provided clean water to 616,033 people.
In the agricultural sector, various measures have been taken to keep rice fields productive amid the threat of drought. These include pumping water from rivers into paddy fields, normalising irrigation channels, constructing emergency channels and optimising water networks.
Of the 157 rice field locations handled, 124 have been completed. Pumping water from rivers to rice fields is one of the main methods, applied at 69 locations, or about 43.9 per cent of the total agricultural sector interventions.
In residential areas, the ministry is prioritising meeting basic community needs through clean water distribution. Of the 931 locations handled, 811 have been completed. Water distribution is the largest form of intervention, carried out at 902 locations, or about 96.9 per cent of the total drought response in residential areas.
Measures have also been taken against the threat of forest and land fires. A total of 141 locations have received assistance, with 137 completed through fire suppression efforts.
Regionally, Java has the largest coverage, with 728 locations handled. Interventions on Java have also benefited 26,346 hectares of rice fields and provided clean water services to 533,604 people.
Through these measures, the Ministry of Public Works continues to deploy available resources and infrastructure to address drought impacts, maintain water availability for communities and protect agricultural land to sustain food productivity.
This is in line with the ministry’s Main Target PU 608, which directs infrastructure development towards delivering tangible benefits for communities and generating economic growth.