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Jakarta vows to evict luxury houses along Krukut River
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A car is submerged on a flooding road in Kemang, South Jakarta, on Aug. 28. (Antara Photo/Ali Qital)
T
he Jakarta Administration plans to clear all residences, including luxury houses, illegally occupying designated open green space along the banks of the Krukut River, Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat said on Friday.
Such houses were blamed for the severe flooding in Kemang and surrounding areas last weekend. “The flooding was not only caused by makeshift houses but also by large houses. We don’t care, we will clear the residences around the river,” said Djarot.
“If the owners of those houses have land ownership certificates and building permits, we will investigate how the permits could have been issued for the buildings around the river,” he added.
From its ongoing investigation, the administration has found that the width of the Krukut River had been narrowed from 20 meters to only 4 to 5 meters due to the buildings.
In the past, Djarot said, flooding mostly occurred around the Ciliwung River, but now it was occurring around other rivers because people had built houses in prohibited areas along the riverbanks.
“We will keep normalizing the river,” he said, adding that the administration will build more low-cost apartments to accommodate the relocated people. (bbn)
