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River restoration solution to Kali Pulo flooding: Agency
The construction of buildings, mainly houses, on the banks of the Kali Pulo has narrowed the width of the river
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The Ciliwung River, as seen in Bidara Cina, East Jakarta, in November 2017. (Kompas/Lucky Pransiska)
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uildings along the banks of the Kali Pulo river in Jati Padang subdistrict, South Jakarta, have to be demolished to prevent the frequent overflowing of the river that has led to flooding, an official has said.
“The problem is whether the Jakarta governor [Anies Baswedan] will allow it or not,” head of the South Jakarta Water Resource Agency Holi Susanto said at his office in South Jakarta on Tuesday, as quoted by tempo.co.
Holi elaborated that river restoration was required to address the frequent flooding caused by the river overflowing.
This was because the construction of buildings, mainly houses, on the banks of the Kali Pulo had narrowed the width of the river from 16 to 20 meters to only 2 to 5 m. In some areas, he added, the river now even resembled a gutter.
As a result, the likelihood of the river bursting its banks is high, which could affect nearby homes.
However, Holi conceded that the process of river restoration would take a long time.
“We are talking about house relocation, low-cost apartment land and distributing information to the residents,” Holi said.
In the meantime, the South Jakarta administration is controlling the volume of water flowing in through the Setu Babakan sluice gate and the Betawi Ngumpul sluice gate to prevent the Kali Pulo overflowing. Holi said the sluice gates would be closed during heavy rain.
In addition, the South Jakarta Water Resource Agency is in its early stages of building a 9,883 square meter dam near the Kebagusan City apartment complex in Pasar Minggu. (ars)
