A last-ditch effort aims to prevent repeat of traffic chaos

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 11/16/2009 2:33 PM  |  Headlines

After a fateful Friday evening when traffic gridlock trapped motorists from afternoon until midnight, caused in part by inundated roads, Jakarta Public Works Agency on Sunday said it would deploy teams to clear heavily clogged drains across the city.

"Each public works agency at a municipal level has a task force to clean the city drains. They have already begun cleaning blocked drains in some streets," agency head Budi Widiantoro said.

The officers will have to race against time to clean up trash-obstructed drains as rains will likely increase in coming months, he said.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has reported that rainfalls in Jakarta will likely increase until the end of February next year.

According to the city police traffic management center, 29 areas were inundated by floods on Friday. The floods varied from 15 to 100 centimeters deep.

"Unfortunately, we only have 30 workers *in each municipality*, but there are so many drains," Budi said.

Budi called on residents to put garbage into bins rather than discarding it on streets or into drains.

Jl. Sabang in Central Jakarta was flooded from Thursday to Friday for instance, because its drains were full of garbage from street vendors.

According to a 2007 bylaw, anyone caught littering in public will face a maximum penalty of 60 days imprisonment or fines of up to Rp 20 million (US$2,083). Unfortunately, since the passing of the bylaw, no reports have been seen in the media of the regulation being enforced.

Several underground phone lines and tap water networks should be moved to make ways for drains, Budi said.

"Many micro drains do not function properly because they are blocked with phone lines and tap water networks," he said.

"Since five years ago, we have repeatedly asked Telkom and PAM Jaya to remove them but they say it is not that easy," Budi said.

Pitoyo Subandrio, the head of the Public Works Ministry's Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Control Office, said all necessary efforts to repair the city drainage system must be carried out.

"My bureau has been trying to channel rainwater through the city's rivers as quickly as possible, but the rainwater gets trapped on the streets," he said. (mrs)

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