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Jakarta speeds up work to tackle floods
(Illustration: Kompas
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(Illustration: Kompas.com/Robertus Belarminus) (Illustration: Kompas.com/Robertus Belarminus)
(Illustration: Kompas.com/Robertus Belarminus)
The Jakarta administration is accelerating work in flood-prone areas of the capital in anticipation of the upcoming rainy season, Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said on Monday.
Ahok said the city administration was working on dredging drains to ease the flow of stormwater as the city heads for the rainy season.
'Our problem is there are so many drains under legal and illegal buildings. We need time to dismantle them,' he told journalists at City Hall on Monday.
Tri Djoko Sri Margianto, head of Jakarta's water management office, said that the city had prepared two water-pump houses at two dams in North Sunter. Each pump house has up to three water pumps to help alleviate problems during rain and flood.
Tri said based on data from the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), there were 21 flooded areas in Jakarta after heavy rain on Saturday. The deepest flooding was on Jl. Pejompongan in Central Jakarta, reaching 50 to 60 centimeters.
'The puddles were caused by blockages in drainage systems. There is a lot of mud in the micro system at Ria-Rio reservoir,' he said.
His office found there were many places in Jakarta lacking micro drainage systems, thus causing disruptions to the flow of water. Moreover, many drains were found to be covered by materials or buildings.
Jl. S. Parman in West Jakarta and Menteng in Central Jakarta had no micro drainage, Tri said.
'There are pavements built there without considering drainage for water flow so we broke the sidewalks,' he added.
The city will also focus on river dredging, such as a project in the Grogol, Mangga Besar and Sawah Besar areas, which had shown significant progress in alleviating floodwater.
Tri said Ahok had ordered all mayors and city officials to cooperate with the Infrastructure and Public Facility Maintenance (PPSU) Agency to tackle flood issues'an ongoing problem faced the capital because of extensive and unstructured development. (rin)
