"To us, the Ciliwung River is life itself," Bambang Parlupi, a coordinator for the celebration of Environment Day in Condet area, East Jakarta, said Sunday.

Not many would associate their lives, even in the most remote way, to the murky, garbage-ridden, brown snake slithering its way through the capital city. The very word "Ciliwung" would induce images of ramshackle housings to most Jakartans.

However, the river has not always been the b*te noire it is today. Historians said that, not unlike ancient civilizations such as Egypt, which flourished along the Nile river, Jakarta might owe its existence to the Ciliwung River back in the 15th century.

The river, which begins in highlands Bogor and flows north to the Sunda Kelapa Port and Marina beach, attracted many traders at its mouth and settlers in its midstream parts.

The first makings of the city might have taken place in the now neglected and constantly flooded port.

However, being Jakarta's river comes with certain responsibilities. The massive use of its water for everyday needs such as washing and sanitary, as well as the constant dumping of waste into its water, eventually turned the once quite picturesque city attraction into a flowing garbage disposal.

Several hundred Jakartans, who disagree that the Ciliwung River is a hopeless case, joined forces Sunday to clean up the river, in hopes of at least restoring a fraction of its former glory.

The people, under the command of non-governmental entities such as the Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka community organization in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, and Jakarta Green Monster in Angke, North Jakarta, seized the World Environment Day momentum, which fell on June 5, to clean six parts of the river, including its upstream and downstream.

"The Ciliwung River means a lot to residents of the Condet area, because so much of their lives revolves around it," Bambang said, "That is why we are willing to do this. We believe there is still hope."

He added part of the Ciliwung River that flowed through the Condet area had the potential to be transformed into a conservation area or even a tourism attraction.

The cleaning up also involved around 80 volunteers who boated through the river and collected some of its garbage.

"We regularly clean our riverbanks, but this is our first time working together with other community organizations to do the cleaning on the very same day," Lucia Ken Ayu, spokeswoman for Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka, told The Jakarta Post.

"We organized a process where residents can trade their bags of organic trash with several kilos of rice," Tari, a member of the organization, said.

She said residents from the nearby Kampung Pulo subdistrict, which has a population of around 300, managed to collect some 50 kilograms of organic waste and 200 kilograms of dry waste on Sunday.(dis)

Popular

Acknowledging our dark past

Marine authority seizes Malaysian boat for suspected illegal fishing

Iran lawmakers back suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog