Riverbank squatters ignorant to environment destruction

Riverbank squatters ignorant to environment destruction

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Living by the riverbanks is not a very good idea.

People who live by the river even said they have always felt
their lives were in danger with the arrival of the rainy season,
fearing the floods could sweep their houses away while they were
asleep.

But most of them did not realize that their very presence on
the riverbanks was, in fact, a factor contributing directly to
the flooding that hit the capital last week -- some of the worst
in recent memory.

Squatters have been living along rivers in Jakarta since many
years ago, but no firm action has ever been taken.

They have even enjoyed power supplied by the state electricity
company PLN, while they paid taxes to local officials. Nobody
warned them that building along the riverbanks meant dwindling
water catchment areas.

This was not clear until a few months ago, when the City
Public Order Agency used force to clear the residents, whose
number had significantly increased to the tens of thousands.

The move had received sharp criticism from activists and the
public, as it was carried out in a violent fashion, and no
compensation was provided for the victims.

Following the recent floods, the administration now had the
reason to continue its operation to clear the riverbanks.

Taman, 50, who had lived on the Ciliwung riverbank in
Manggarai, Central Jakarta for 22 years, said he did not realize
there would be any problem with building a house there.

"I just know from you that our houses were built illegally. We
got permission from subdistrict heads. We also paid taxes," he
told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He had returned home from a temporary shelter, where he stayed
for a few days, as his house was inundated with water reaching up
to his neck.

The administration officials pointed their fingers at people
like Taman living along the riverbanks as one of the main causes
of the recent flooding. The fact shows that many luxury houses,
business and industrial centers as well as golf courses were
built on the water catchment areas.

The administration said it would clear all houses built
illegally along the 13 riverbanks in the capital and revert the
land to green areas.

The central government said that resettlement would be funded
with part of Rp 11 trillion (US$1 million) allocated for
repairing the damage facility caused by floods.

Head of the Jakarta City Public Work Agency IGKG Suena said
the government would give priority for the resettlement of people
living on the riverbanks of two main rivers in the capital,
Ciliwung and Pesanggrahan.

The 11 other rivers in Jakarta include Mookervart, Angke,
Grogol, Krukut, Pasar Minggu, Kali Baru Timur, Cipinang, Sunter,
Buaran, Kramat Jati and Cakung.

According to Suena, around 5,000 houses should be cleared from
Ciliwung river banks from Condet district in East Jakarta to
Manggarai district in South Jakarta. While more houses should be
cleared from Pesanggrahan riverbanks, from Cinere in South
Jakarta and Kota in North Jakarta.

Most people said they did not mind being resettled.

They said the plan to relocate them was not a new one, having
been introduced by then-governor Ali Sadikin in the 1970s. But
they would demand adequate compensation.

Tasroh, 80, who lives in Ciliwung riverbanks in Manggarai
subdistrict, said she would refuse to leave the house if the
government could not give her fair compensation.

"As I now have a house here, I should have house which is not
worse than this," said Tasroh, who had been living in the river
banks for about 30 years.

Subur, the head of a neighborhood unit in Petamburan
subdistrict, Tanah Abang district, Central Jakarta, said he hoped
the life of the people in his neighborhood would not be
complicated by the resettlement program.

The 35-year-old and his family, together with some 50
families, live on the riverbank of the West Flood Canal in
Petamburan.

Ali Agus, 25, a resident of the Ciliwung riverbank in Kampung
Melayu subdistrict, East Jakarta, meanwhile, responded with an
expression of bewilderment.

"In this place, I have made a reputation for myself as a
construction worker. Many people hire me to build their homes. If
I am moved from here, I will be in a place where people will not
know my qualifications," said Agus, standing in the portion of
his house that was not swept away by the floodwaters.

But none of them was aware that constructing houses on the
river banks can contribute to the environmental problems, which
could worsen the floods.

"The flood is only a natural disaster which could happen at
any time; I don't see any connection between the location of our
houses and the worsening floods," said Humaidi, 42, who has lived
in Kampung Melayu since 1978.

"It could be a message from God; perhaps he was punishing us
for our sins."