Sutiyoso in hot water over gridlock, flood

Sutiyoso in hot water over gridlock, flood

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Angered by Wednesday's gridlock and flooding in many parts of the
capital, non-governmental organization the Jakarta Residents
Forum (Fakta) opened a hotline on Thursday for Jakartans to lodge
complaints -- part of its preparation for class action suit
against the city administration.

Fakta leader Azas Tigor Nainggolan told The Jakarta Post the
situation in capital was totally "out of control" -- an
illustration of the administration's systemic failure to prevent
flooding or manage traffic in the city.

Eight-hour heavy rain caused flooding across Jakarta and
created crippling traffic jams at major thoroughfares and toll
roads. Motorists blocking intersections, motorcyclists sheltering
beneath underpasses and fallen trees added to the chaos.

Tigor encouraged the public to provide Fakta information for
its class action.

In 2002, Fakta took a similar suit against the administration,
following a massive flood in February that claimed at least 30
lives and displaced some 300,000 people. Fakta lost the legal
action.

Responding to the group, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said he was
confident about facing the suit.

"We are ready. For us, the class action suit is not the most
important thing. We're more interested in seeking alternative
solutions and getting public feedback to prevent the (flooding
and traffic jams) from reoccurring in the future," he said at
City Hall.

Sutiyoso said natural causes, not his administration, were to
blame.

Forty percent of Jakarta's area was below sea level so it was
prone to flooding, he said.

He also blamed the stalled East Flood Canal project for the
floods, due to problems with land acquisition. The canal and the
existing West Flood canal are expected to help control 13 rivers
flowing through the city to reduce possible flooding.

Jakarta Public Order Agency head Soebagio, however, put the
blame on the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) for not
warning the administration.

The public order agency supervises the flood crisis center at
City Hall.

However, Jakarta Public Works Agency head Fodly Misbach said
Wednesday's downpour was relatively rare.

"The BMG said Wednesday's heavy and uninterrupted
precipitation was the first such downpour since 1971. The
abnormality was partly influenced by the changing global climate
since 1996," he said, quoting a BMG release.

Fodly attributed much of the flooding to four off-line water
pumps at the Melati dam in Central Jakarta.

Four new pumps at the dam had been installed recently, he
said. However, four of the older pumps, had been moved to a new
location at the dam had not been reinstalled by Wednesday.

That was why most of the flooded areas were in Central
Jakarta, he said.

Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno
pointed to clogged up drains in the city as the main cause.

The West Flood Canal should have been able to accommodate
Wednesday's rainfall if the drains were working properly, he
said.

Residents who wish to file complaints can contact Fakta by
telephone on 021-4715730 or by mail to Jl. Bojana Tirta II No. 1,
Pisangan Timur, East Jakarta 13230.