Three Weeks After Pesticide Warehouse Fire, Residents Report Cisadane River No Longer Smells
Tangerang residents report that they no longer detect the pungent smell emanating from the banks of the Cisadane River in Tangerang City.
Previously, a strong smell resembling petrol was detected following contamination of the river caused by a fire at a pesticide warehouse in Taman Tekno, South Tangerang City.
Didit, a 62-year-old resident of Babakan, stated that the pungent smell has gradually disappeared over the past week, allowing residents to resume activities along the riverbanks. “The smell has been gone since last Sunday. The river has been cleaned,” said Didit when met by Kompas.com on Monday, 2 March 2026.
Recent heavy rainfall has also aided in flushing contaminated water from the Cisadane River downstream. “The cleaning was done, and then heavy rain from Bogor twice helped sweep away the contaminated water,” he explained.
Fellow Babakan resident Dede Alfian, 20, echoed similar sentiments. He noted that residents feel safer following the cleaning operation conducted days after the fire. Dede stated that the Tangerang City Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) not only removed dead fish from the river but also administered chemical treatment to restore the river’s condition to normal.
“Within a week or two after treatment, the river started returning to normal. It no longer smells,” said Dede.
Despite the river’s reported improvement, residents expressed hope that contamination will not recur. They have called for stricter oversight of industrial activities around the Cisadane River to prevent future environmental and public harm.
“Industrial supervision needs to be strengthened. More attention should be paid to the environmental impact these factories have on surrounding areas,” stated Dede.
According to Kompas.com’s observation on Monday, 2 March 2026, several residents could be seen sitting on the riverbanks, fishing with rods or nets.
The warehouse fire occurred at a pesticide storage facility in Taman Tekno, South Tangerang, on Monday, 9 February 2026 in the early morning hours. The incident caused contamination of the Jaletreng River in the Rawabuntu area, Serpong.
According to Sahroni, chief of the South Tangerang Fire Department, contamination resulted from extinguishing water mixed with chemical substances from burning pesticide material. The water flowed into the Jaletreng River, one of the tributaries leading to Kali Angke. The contamination spread to the BSD area, with dead fish discovered in river channels as a result of pesticide-contaminated water.