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Covering Kali Item is useless: Urbanist
While covering the polluted Kali Item (black river) with a giant black net seemed like a last-minute decision to make Jakarta more presentable to Asian Games delegates, an observer on urban issues has said the city administration’s decision was ineffective in tackling the real issue at hand: pollution.
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The athletes village (pictured) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, is partly surrounded by the Sentiong River, dubbed Black River for its color. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak)
W
hile covering the polluted Sentiong Rriver – dubbed Kali Item (black river) by residents of the area – with a giant black net seemed like a last-minute decision to make Jakarta more presentable to Asian Games delegates, an observer on urban issues has said the city administration’s decision was ineffective in tackling the real issue at hand: pollution.
Last week, the city administration covered the river with a 689-meter-long nylon net reportedly worth Rp 580 million (US$ 40,002), saying it was worried that its rancid smell would reach the athletes village located across from it.
The move was met with wide criticism, with various sides arguing that the city administration should be cleaning the river instead of covering it.
An urbanist from Trisakti University, Nirwono Joga, said the administration should have temporarily shut down home industries in the area to prevent them from dumping more untreated waste into the river.
Nearby tofu and tempeh industries reportedly have reportedly used Kali Item as a dumping site for years.
“The industries should be asked to stop producing ahead of and during the Asian Games,” Nirwono told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The issue of river pollution resulting from industrial waste has been around for years and city administration has not done anything to sanction the businesses involved. Therefore, any efforts to clean the river were always fruitless, he added.
Residents of the area must also be monitored as they, too, tend to throw their waste into the river.
Nirwono went on to say that given Kali Item’s high concentration of E-Coli and other toxic substance, it was unlikely that the administration could clean and reduce the smell of the river in the near future.
“In the long term, the city administration should develop special sewers for industrial and domestic waste. The sewers should be separated from the city’s sewer system, so the waste would not pollute the river,” Nirwono said.
