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number of residents in Cirendeu, Ciputat, South Tangerang have donated parcels of their land to help minimize the impact of flooding along the Pesanggrahan River during the coming rainy season.

The South Tangerang municipal administration, which is overseeing a normalization program to safeguard the area against flooding, hailed the land donations as expressions of good faith and understanding by residents committed to infrastructure development in the municipality.

 'There are four residents in Cirendeu who donated land. In Poncol village, Pak Benny and Pak Aep donated 200 square meters each,' said Aji Awan, the head of the water resources department at the South Tangerang highway and water resources agency, on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Aji said that Pak Bilal and Pak Pambudi, two other residents living near the Pratama housing compound, also donated land located near the river's embankment that was needed for widening the river.

The size of plots donated to the local administration varied, ranging from 25 square meters to 1600 square meters, said Aji.

'They gave their land for the normalization program, because they don't want to be hit by floods during the upcoming rainy season,' he added.

Besides the residents, about three housing complexes near the river were also willing to work with the local administration by donating plots of land, which were initially earmarked for public spaces and social facilities, according to head of the South Tangerang highway and water resources agency Retno Parwati.

In Cirendeu and Rempoa, South Tangerang, the river normalization project is being carried out along a three-kilometer section of the river, said Aji.

Aji also said that residents had asked the municipal administration to reroute the waterway to prevent it from affecting village homes located adjacent to the riverbank.

 'Now the residents are waiting to hear whether their request will be accepted by the municipal administration or not,' he said.

The normalization project for the Pesanggrahan River is taking place in West Jakarta and South Jakarta, covering a total length of 26.74 kilometers of river. (nai)