Bobby, who is the son-in-law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, said the city will ramp up enforcement of the fine for throwing trash into rivers as stipulated in a 2015 municipal bylaw on waste management, after the Deli River restoration project is finished.

The restoration project, expected to be finished by December, involves a 34.5-kilometer stretch of the Deli River and is expected to restore the river’s natural functions.

Bobby said that after the project is concluded, the Medan city administration will fine anyone who dumps waste in the river.

“The bylaw [on littering] will be enforced starting in January 2024,” Bobby said during an inspection of the Deli River on Wednesday.

Bobby said the city would also install CCTV cameras and security posts to monitor the area and ensure that no one throws trash into the river.

Several high-ranking officials participated in the Deli River inspection on Wednesday, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dudung Abdurachman, acting North Sumatra governor Hassanudin, Bukit Barisan I Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hasan and House of Representatives Commission I chairwoman Meutya Hafid.

The Medan administration is enlisting the help of Bina Marga Water Resources and Construction Agency, Bukit Barisan I Regional Military Command (Kodam I/BB) and the Sumatra River II Control Office for the Deli River normalization project.

Bina Marga Water Resources and Construction Agency head Topan OP Ginting said the Deli River restoration project would be conducted in four stages and employ as many as 2,303 people.

“We will install retaining walls [along the river] and clean up the riverbanks and dikes,” Topan said on Wednesday, tempo.co reported.

He added that the retaining walls would be installed using heavy equipment and up to one kilometer of riverbank would be cleaned up each day.(ami)