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n August, 22-year-old Gary Bencheghib and his brother, 20-year-old Sam, hopped into canoes made of plastic bottles and bamboo, starting their expedition along the Citarum River in West Java.

The French brothers spent a total of two weeks cruising the 270-kilometer river — the longest in the province — to find shocking visual evidence of the polluted Citarum.

They found plenty of it in the form of plastic waste, dead animals, trash fires and waste from textile factories along the river. The journey was recorded into a video that was then uploaded to YouTube and gained notoriety in September.

One of the perennial problems relating to the river is a lack of support from the government. “The provincial administration has been doing a lot. But we need more help from the government,” Gary said in August.

Gary’s hopes appeared to be answered by the government around four months later, when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced that his administration would pay more attention to the Citarum.

“God willing, in mid-January next year, about two weeks from now, we will start a thorough revitalization of our Citarum River,” Jokowi said on Thursday in Bandung, West Java.

The quality of water in the river — along the banks of which about 24 million people live — was horrible, he added, and should not be used for agriculture anymore, as it was contaminated by factory waste and garbage.

Jokowi said he had received information about certain bacteria that had been found in the river, highlighting that it would pose a risk to residents of Jakarta, since “almost its entire water supply comes from the Citarum.”

Citarum supplies around 80 percent of the raw water for Jakarta and its surrounding areas.

It also irrigates farms that supply 5 percent of Indonesia’s rice, as the river is the source of water for 4,200 hectares of rice fields in Karawang.

This is despite the fact that, the Citarum was among the world’s 10 most polluted places alongside Chernobyl in Ukraine, according to a report released in 2013 by environmental organization Green Cross Switzerland and international nonprofit organization the Blacksmith Institute.

Textile factories in Bandung and Cimahi were found to be the major toxic waste contributors to the river, which was dubbed the world’s dirtiest river in 2007.

The situation is made worse by the declining condition of the forests near the Citarum in recent years. The Citarum-Ciliwung Riverside and Protected Forest Management Agency has revealed that only 13 of the 660 ha of land is still covered with trees, it was supposed to be 30 percent.

Jokowi reaffirmed his promise on Friday, telling the public via his Facebook page about his plan that will include taking action against companies polluting the river.

Abetnego Tarigan, an environmental expert at the Office of the Presidential Staff, said the plan would be focused on solid and liquid waste clean-up, as well as regional management.

“The plan will involve every ministry, regional administration and non governmental organization,” Abetnego said. He added that the stakeholders would decide on things they should do first; whether that be reforestation or industrial management in regions along the river.

Led by its newly installed chief Maj. Gen. Doni Monardo, the Siliwangi Military Command, which covers both West Java and Banten, has recently initiated a rehabilitation plan for the river. (ami)