City assures water pumps work well

Although a number of the city water pumps are still under repair, the administration says that with more than 180 working pumps they are ready to cope with the annual floods.

"We are still fixing two pumps in Pluit (North Jakarta) and two pumps in Setiabudi (South Jakarta) and another pump in Cideng (Central Jakarta)," Wishnu Subagya Yusuf, head of the public works agency, said Monday.

"But I assure you that the pumps will be ready mid-December. The rest of the pumps are in good condition," he said, adding that the city currently owned 189 water pumps in 53 areas used to control rivers during the wet season.

Wishnu was speaking during Deputy Governor Prijanto's tour of the city's water pumps.

During the site inspection, Prijanto checked the Jati Pinggir reservoir in Central Jakarta, the West Tomang and the Grogol water pump stations in West Jakarta and the Teluk Gong water pump station in North Jakarta.

On Saturday, Prijanto visited a number of floodgates and water pump stations in North Jakarta and East Jakarta: the North Sunter floodgate, South Sunter floodgate, East Sunter water pump station, Rawabadak water pump station, Tanjungan water pump station, Ancol water pump station and Pulomas water pump station.

The inspection was part of the administration's program to mitigate flooding, which is the city's biggest problem during the wet season.

Jakarta's rivers used to be clean and run deep. But as the city developed, the river banks eroded and the rivers became more polluted with garbage, causing them to become shallower.

During the wet season in Jakarta, areas long riverbanks are prone to flooding.

The administration and central government have agreed to dredge 13 rivers across the city to mitigate flooding.

Beginning next year, the administration will start dredging major rivers in Jakarta, using a US$150 million loan from the World Bank.

The administration has evicted residents who live along the riverbanks to complete the project.

On Monday, hundreds of public order officers evicted 120 dwellings on Jl. Inspeksi Kali Sekretaris in Grogol, West Jakarta.

The action has sparked protests from the evicted residents, as well as those who live on the banks of Buaran River in East Jakarta.

Dozens of residents staged a demonstration at City Hall on Monday, urging the government to postpone the eviction plan.

"It's not that we oppose the plan. We support it. But the administration only announced the eviction a couple of weeks ago. We have not had enough time to find other place to live," said a resident, Lisa.

A city councilor, Ahmad Suaedi, said the rehabilitation of the 13 rivers could not be postponed.

"If it's postponed, many more people will suffer because of flooding, especially those living in areas prone to flooding like Cawang and Kalibata in East Jakarta," Ahmad said. Triwik Kurniasari

Post Date : 25 November 2008