Ciliwung River in Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo: jakartaglobe.id)
Jakarta (VNA) – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan admitted that thegovernment’s river normalisation programme was not yet optimal in preventingfloods in the capital city.
Inspecting the Ciliwung River in Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta on January 2,Anies said it was so true that the river restoration programme has been carriedout but flooding still occurs.
The Ciliwung River overflowed following heavy rainfall on New Year'sEve. Thousands of houses near the area were flooded with a height of 0.5-2 metres.
According to Anies, a long-term and comprehensive study on floodmitigation in the city is necessary, especially on controlling water in theupstream by building dams.
In addition, the government must build reservoirs and dams tocollect water.
By that way, Anies expressed optimism that flooding in the capital can beminimised.
Meanwhile, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadi Moeljono voiceddifferent opinions in light of the solution for flooding in Jakarta, holding ifthe programme is well implemented, Jakarta will be safe from flooding.
In the past years, Indonesia has prioritised river revivalprogramme in a bid to reduce flooding during rainy season. The government hasspent billions of USD on the programme; however it has not proved efficiency asexpected by local residents./.
