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Jakarta river dredging opted as restoration stagnant
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Rows of semi-permanent settlements stand along the Ciliwung riverbank in Manggarai, South Jakarta, on Sept. 13. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he Jakarta administration has opted to dredge rivers in Jakarta to prevent flooding as the rainy season is due to arrive in a few weeks.
Jakarta Water Resource Agency head Teguh Hendarwan said even though the central government was supposed to dredge the rivers by delegating the Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Control Office (BBWSCC), the city administration opted to dredge them to prevent flooding during the rainy season, which is usually from October to February.
“The city plays a role in preventing flooding by dredging the rivers given the fact that there are 13 rivers that go through the city,” he said as quoted by kompas.com, adding that the city had deployed backhoes to rivers in the city.
Some of the rivers that have backhoes working to dredge them are Mookervart, Sekretaris and Krukut, as well as the Ciliwung River, particularly the Kampung Melayu-Bukit Duri and Kampung Baru segments.
He admitted, however, that the city chose to dredge the rivers as it was not able to acquire land around the rivers, which resulted in BBWSCC's inability to continue its river restoration program this year.
The BBWSCC also did not include allocation for river restoration in the 2019 state budget because the city administration had been slow in acquiring land needed to normalize the flow of the rivers, he admitted.
Teguh argued that the delay was caused by inconsistency of land ownership data from residents who live nearby the rivers. (ris/gis)
