Safrizal refutes narrative that government has given up on post-disaster mud handling
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Head of the Aceh Regional Command Post for the Task Force for Accelerating Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Satgas PRR), Safrizal Zakaria Ali, has refuted narratives circulating on social media that suggest the government has given up on handling mud after the floods in Aceh.
Safrizal emphasised that the cleanup process is continuing intensively with clear results on the ground.
He also re-explained the meaning of his statement regarding the term “heavy,” which had been misinterpreted by some parties. According to him, the term reflects the hard work of the team in the field, not an admission of incapacity or despair.
“We need to emphasise that for us, ‘heavy’ means we must work hard and never give up. All this cannot be done instantly. So the spirit is a positive one to fulfil our responsibilities, not to mean surrender. ‘Heavy’ is the reality of the terrain that we are conquering together,” Safrizal said in his statement in Jakarta on Friday.
Based on operational data from Satgas PRR, out of a total of 519 targeted locations in Aceh, 480 locations have been fully cleaned.
Meanwhile, the remaining 39 locations are currently on-going or still being worked on. These remaining sites are dense residential areas and narrow drainage systems that require careful manual handling.
To accelerate the process, personnel support continues to be optimised at critical points. In the Aceh Tamiang region, Satgas has deployed IPDN Praja personnel to assist in speeding up the cleanup of public facilities and residents’ environments so they can be used again soon.
In addition to deploying civil service personnel, Safrizal also outlined the continuity of the Phase II Cash for Work (Padat Karya) programme, which involves direct participation from affected communities.
In Pidie Jaya, specifically in the Meureudu and Meurah Dua sub-districts, this programme is actively running with a total of 392 participants.
“The strength in Pidie Jaya consists of 300 local residents, 80 Satpol PP and BPBD personnel, accompanied by 12 TNI/Polri personnel. The implementation of the first wave ran from 6-8 April, and will continue again from 14-17 April. This is proof that the government and the community are working hand in hand in the field,” he said.
Furthermore, Safrizal asked the public not to be easily provoked by incomplete snippets of information on social media. He assured that all vital infrastructure and national roads (Phase I) have been 100 percent completed since January, and now Satgas is focused on completing the cleanup of residential environments.
“Data is fact, and our work is real. We will not stop until the last location is truly completed. We invite the public to remain optimistic in welcoming the next rehabilitation and reconstruction phase,” he concluded.