Water begins to flow in Marunda

Water begins to flow in Marunda

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After years of being deprived of a proper water supply, Marunda
residents in Cilincing, North Jakarta, are finally able to quench
their thirst for fresh, clean water, while ironically, the water
shortage crisis is affecting most of the capital's residents.

"Water runs like never before," Taufik, 48, a Marunda resident
said on Tuesday.

City water company PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) has completed
upgrading the North Jakarta pipe network that provides tap water
distribution in Marunda and its surrounding areas, located in the
northernmost part of the capital.

TPJ spokesman Rhamses Simanjuntak said the water was
distributed from the Cilincing Distribution Center, which has a
capacity of 3,000 liters per second.

Taufik, who has lived in the area since 1986, said his
neighborhood was actually connected to the city water company's
network in 1996, receiving their water from the Water Production
Installation (IPA) in Buaran, East Jakarta.

However, in 2000, more and more houses were connected to the
same pipe from Buaran, and consequently caused Marunda to only
receive a trickle of its original supply -- or most of the time,
nothing at all, he said.

"We paid for water, but only air came out of our faucets," he
said, quoting a neighbor.

Taufik said that for the time being, he was satisfied with the
24-hour, non-stop supply of fresh water.

"We might not object to a new increase in water charges, as
long as there's a guarantee that the water will continue to run
like this," he said, opening a tap in his front yard to show the
new miracle.

However, Taufik's joy at having an adequate supply of water
seems meaningless compared to the fate of many Jakarta residents,
who have to struggle for even a single drop of clean water.

Currently, TPJ and another private water company, PT PAM
Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), are facing a lawsuit demanding the
companies pay a compensation of Rp 1 billion (US$117,647) for
their failure to provide proper services to residents.

Legal counselor Amstrong Sembiring, who is providing legal
assistance in the lawsuit, said water distribution might be
better without the two private operators, which had only burdened
residents with increasing costs but had failed to improve their
services.

The case is scheduled to continue today at the Central Jakarta
District Court.