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Not enough done by Jakarta administration to clean black river: Expert
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City workers clean the Sentiong River under a giant nylon net in Central Jakarta on July 21. The city administration covered the river in an attempt to ward off the smell ahead of the 18th Asian Games in August. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
A
n expert with the Public Works and Housing Ministry, Firdaus Ali, has said the Jakarta administration has yet to make maximum efforts to clean the Sentiong River ahead of the Asian Games.
The smelly river has been covered by a huge nylon net to supposedly prevent it from emanating a foul smell that could offend international athletes, who will stay at the athletes village across from the river in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, during the Asian Games.
“It [the Jakarta administration] has yet to make significant efforts to clean the river even though the event is only 24 days away. We don’t want to show this ‘face’ [the dirty and smelly river],” Firdaus said on Friday.
Firdaus said the ministry would assist the Jakarta administration to clean the river, such as by providing pumps and dredging the river.
Previously, the ministry’s Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Control Office (BBWSCC) provided 28 portable pumps to help the city administration divert the flow of the Sentiong River to the Sunter River in the hope of reducing the smell.
Meanwhile, a staff member at PT HAS Environmental, a company working with the administration to clean the river, has said the administration would procure more equipment to clean the river as soon as possible.
The administration is currently trying to clean the water by using a nano bubble generator, an aerator, a surface aerator and a blower.
The technology is being used to increase the oxygen level in the river, which may reduce the smell and clean the polluted water.
Diki, PT Has Environmental staff member, said the process to clean the river with existing equipment could be lengthy because a nano bubble generator, for instance, could only filter 20 cubic meters of water per second, way below the river’s discharge level.
“Why does it takes a long time to clean the water? It’s because the equipment is insufficient, given the river discharge,” Diki said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
