Who’s to blame for the flooding?

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  JAKARTA   |  Sat, 06/13/2009 11:44 AM  |  City

Street-side vendors scheduled to occupy a food street on Jl. Kampung Lima, Central Jakarta, claim they dispose of garbage properly, and refuse to be blamed for the intensity of the frequent flooding on Jl. M.H. Thamrin.

Slamet, a food vendor, said he had been selling soto (chicken soup) in the area for 25 years and had never thrown his garbage into waterways.

“It’s not true that we clog the drains and cause floods. I always take my trash home because there’s no dump site here,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The 52-year-old then showed a half-full plastic bag containing leftovers from his customers’ meals.

He admitted he disposed of dishwater in the gutter next to his food cart.

On Thursday, Governor Fauzi Bowo blamed street vendors on Jl. Sabang for indiscriminate littering and causing heavy flooding on Jl. M.H. Thamrin each time there was prolonged rainfall.

He said he had told Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni to deny such street vendors entry to Jl. Kampung Lima, a small street connecting Jl. M.H. Thamrin and Jl. Sabang.

With the Central Jakarta municipal administration geared up to tidy the city, Slamet and dozens of other vendors on Jl. Sabang will be relocated to the new dedicated food street on Jl. Kampung Lima, effective June 22.

“If the street vendors don’t clean up their waste, then pile up the garbage and leave it with the vendors for three days or a week, until it rots,” Fauzi fumed in his message to the mayor.

Water management head at the Central Jakarta Public Works Agency, Agus Priyono, said the worst cases of clogged drains were on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Jl. Sabang and Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta.

He said the drainage system on Jl. Sabang did not work well because many street vendors working at night threw their garbage into the drains. The drainage system on Jl. M.H. Thamrin was also clogged with trash, he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Data from the agency shows Rp 1.5 trillion is needed to fix the drainage system in Central Jakarta — much more than this year’s budgeted provision of Rp 100 million.

But the vendors refuse to be the administration’s scapegoats.

Hamid, 35, a street vendor selling es doger (shaved ice with red glutinous rice and fruit) on Jl. Kampung Lima, said he always prepared a plastic bag on his cart to put away plastic cups and spoons used by his customers.

He said trash pickers came for the used cups and spoons each day.

“The officers would be angry if we threw garbage just anywhere,” he said.

Amin, the owner of a food stall on Jl. Kampung Lima, said he hoped people would not paint all street vendors with the same brush.

“Not all street vendors litter indiscriminately. I bring my garbage to my other stall,” he said.

The street vendors said they were looking forward to when Jl. Kampung Lima, which will be open 24 hours, was inaugurated, with many customers expected to come for the large variety of tasty and cheap food.

Preparations for the opening are nearly complete. A canopy has been built to keep the rain out.

Several basic kitchens and small waterways have been built. At some counters, red carts are already in place.

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