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t is not the water puddles or slippery roads that worry ojek driver Juri Mansyur, when driving on the capital's streets in the heavy rain.

The 37-year-old man said he was more anxious about fallen trees.

"I remember when a storm hit the city at the end of April. I saw uprooted trees along some city roads," said Juri, who usually looks for passengers on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

"It was pretty scary. The uprooted trees also caused congestions," he said.

He noted it was not the first time this type of incident happened in Jakarta.

"It seems like the city's trees are prone to falling these days. This is very dangerous because they *falling trees* can cause accidents," he said.

"The city administration should do something about it. It's a matter of safety," said Juri.

Agustina Udayani, a Palmerah resident in West Jakarta, expressed similar concerns.

"The administration, through its parks agency, should routinely check all trees along the roadsides to prevent more uprooting," said Agustina, 40.

"The latest string of incidents has proved the administration has been careless maintaining trees.

"Trees along the main and busy streets are exposed to air pollution and need extra care," she said, adding it was also important to trim tree branches regularly.

She also criticized the agency for only trimming trees planted along the capital's main streets, such as Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin.

"It looks like the agency only pays attention to trees near governmental offices, probably hoping high-level officials will admire and praise the agency's work," said Agustina.

"Don't leave other big trees in other roads. It would also be better to fell old trees that tend to be fragile and replace them with new ones," she said.

The fallen trees issue is a new problem for Jakartans, especially motorists in the last few months, often damaging vehicles, causing congestions and even injuries.

On April 21, storms uprooted hundreds of trees in thoroughfares and parks across the capital.

Central Jakarta topped the list with about 200 fallen trees, said Ery Basworo, the agency's head.

Some of the fallen trees were on Jl. Kramat Raya, Jl. Agus Salim, Jl. Cempaka Putih Raya, Jl. Angkasa and Jl. Rawasari Timur. The heavy rain also destroyed some trees at City Hall and the National Monument (Monas).

Ery said most of the uprooted trees were angsana (rosewood), which were planted in the 1960s.

"Angsana is a vulnerable type of tree. Its structure is fragile. It is prone to fall, since it doesn't have strong roots," he said.

"In the future, we aim to replace angsana with other stronger trees, like trembesi *rain tree* and mahoni *mahogany*," he added.

He said in the past, the city planted angsana because they grew fast.

The agency grows seeds in three areas: Tebet and Ciganjur, both in South Jakarta, and in Srengseng, West Jakarta.

When the young trees are a few meters tall, the agency officers transplant them to parks or roadsides.

Ery said his office had taken measures to prevent trees from falling.

"We have deployed teams in every park's subagency to trim trees every three to four months," he said, adding there were about 5 million trees in Jakarta.

"We will not cut down old trees because it takes a long time and a lot of money to maintain big trees," he said, adding his office would preserve the bigger and older trees and strengthen their trunks to keep them from falling.

Ery admitted it was easier to trim big trees along the city's main streets than in residential areas.

"Many residents file complaints while we are trimming trees, saying we disturb traffic," he said.

"Almost every street in the capital lends itself to parking. This makes our job more difficult. We cannot just trim trees because there are many vehicles parked under them," he said.

Selamet Daroyni from the Institute of Green Indonesia said the administration only pursued its target of increasing green areas in the city without considering the trees' quality.

"It forgets it is important to choose sturdy trees that are strong enough to grip the soil and able to survive any situation, including heavy rains," he said.

Slamet also urged the administration to be responsible in paying compensation for the victims of fallen trees.

"If a tree falls on a car in public place, for instance, the administration is fully responsible for the incident because it fails to maintain the tree," he said.

The agency, Ery said, has allocated budget for such case.