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Weekly 5: Jakarta cannot do it alone
kompas
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kompas.com
The cities surrounding Jakarta house 1.38 million of the capital's workforce, but also provide many other contributions including:
Water
Although most piped water comes from Jatiluhur Dam in Purwakarta in West Java, Tangerang municipality also contributes to provide water to thirsty Jakartans.
Private water operator PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), which is responsible for providing clean water to the western part of the city, draws 31.8 percent of its supplies from Tangerang.
Palyja spokeswoman Meyritha Maryanie explained that Palyja bought the raw water, which comes from the Cisadane River, from the local city-owned water operator PDAM before processing it at its water treatment plant (IPA).
Waste disposal
Jakarta's 10 million denizens produces 6,500 tons of garbage daily. Given the city's lack of space to dispose of its garbage, it relies on Bantar Gebang, a district in Bekasi municipality.
Sanitation Agency head Saptastri Endiningtyas said on Thursday that the city administration had used the 123-hectare plot of land in Bantar Gebang as a landfill since 1989.
'The landfill is currently managed by private company PT Godang Tua Jaya,' she said, adding that the company would handle Bantar Gebang until 2023.
Saptastri said the city spent at least Rp 400 billion (US$30.8 million) per year to deal with the garbage, including a 20 percent 'tip' in the form of a community development fund for the Bekasi municipality.
'Because the cost to transport garbage to Bantar Gebang is so high, the agency is now focusing on educating residents to manage their own,' she explained.
She added that the administration was also considering building a number of intermediate treatment facilities (ITF) in Sunter and Marunda in North Jakarta and in Semanan, West Jakarta.
Weekend getaways
Located at the foot of the Salak and Gede mountains, Bogor is a favorite weekend getaway for Jakartans, for its charm as much as its proximity; the city's already congested streets are often jammed with weekenders from the capital.
After visiting the Bogor Botanical Gardens and other agro-tourist sites, visitors hunt for delicious food across hundreds of restaurants and street eateries, as well as affordable yet fashionable clothes in the city's many factory outlets.
The Jl. Suryakencana and Taman Kencana areas are popular among tourists and locals alike.
Most of the attractions, like the botanical gardens and Bogor Presidential Palace, are within walking distance of Bogor railway station; indeed, rail is a convenient travel option from the capital.
Higher education
Historian JJ Rizal said in a recent discussion that many academicians had got up in arms when certain faculties of the University of Indonesia (UI) were moved to Depok in the mid-1980s.
'Many considered that Depok was a tempat jin buang anak [no man's land],' he said. At that time, Depok was remote.
Rizal added, however, that the university, which turned a rubber plantation into its campus, eventually thrived and turned the city into a center of higher-education.
Land scarcity in Jakarta has led to many university building their large campuses in Depok.
Following UI, Pancasila University, Gunadarma University, Mercu Buana University and Depok Muhammadiyah University also built campuses in the municipality.
The city is also great for students; unlike in Jakarta, living costs remain reasonable.
Fresh vegetables
Jakarta has little space for agriculture, so the city depends entirely on food supplied from other areas, especially vegetables and staple foods.
Besides Lampung, the mountainous and fertile Bogor regency is a major supplier.
Vegetables from the area are usually sent to Kramat Jati wholesale market in East Jakarta before being distributed to myriad markets across the city. ' JP
