ID :
107738
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 07:26
Auther :

WAITING FOR SPEEDY REALIZATION OF CITARUM RIVER NORMALIZATION PROJECT

By : Wuryanti Puspitasari
Jakarta, Feb 20 (ANTARA) - Black clouds began to fill the sky that afternoon, a sign of coming rain and also a reason for anxiety among the people living on the banks of the Citarum river in Dayeuhkolot sub-district, Bandung, West Java.

Staying in temporary shelters, they are concerned because water from the 80-200 centimeter high flood from the river that happened two weeks ago had not yet entirely receded from their homes, neighborhoods, schools and the main roads around them.

Another downpour would only lead to a greater water flow and wipe out their hope of being able to leave their evacuation shelters and return to their homes where they had left behind most of their belongings.

At a glance, it was just like any regular evening with the sound of children laughing, motor vehicles roaring through the streets, the honking of motorists in a hurry and the singing of some birds.

But if we take a closer look, we will see some remarkable things : the Citarum River's brown colored water rushing along and overflowing its banks , submerging residents' houses, public facilities and other structures in the area.

According to data collected by local authorities, about 2,148 houses in three rural villages and one urban administrative unit at 'Kelurahan' or lowest level in Daeyeuhkolot sub-district are submerged after rains had been pouring on the area since February 5, 2010.

Dayeuhkolot sub-district head Numan identified the four flooded areas as the villages of Dayeuhkolot , Citereup , Cangkuang Wetan , and the kelurahan of Pasawahan 'Kelurahan' with the inundations reaching various heights.

In Dayeuhkolot village, the water level was approximately 80 to 200 centimeters high, in Citereup village about 80 to 175 centimeters, in Cangkuang Wetan Village 80 to 160 centimeters, and in Pasawahan 80 to 180 centimeters.

There are 17,410 people living within the flooded area. As many as 800 of them had to evacuate to relatives' homes or other neighboring flood-free houses. The deluge had also submerged five mosques, five primary schools and four other public facilities.

The situation prompted Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono to visit the location and witness first-hand the current flood victims' conditions, people who had evacuated for days to escape the brown water that had invaded their homes.

The minister who brought along logistics support, tents, boats and money, also wanted to meet directly with the people who over the past few years had always been living under the threat of flooding.

Minister Laksono also offered hope, solutions, and spoke of the central government efforts to immediately accelerate the Citarum River normalization project.

The Citarum river normalization project consists of river dredging, straightening of the river's course, and relocating the river bank population to flood-free areas.

The minister said he government would immediately take action to accelerate the Citarum river normalization project as it was the best solution to the annual flooding problem.

The normalization program itself had been running since about ten years ago but the government would strive to accelerate it.

"At this moment there are about 1,400 hectares of land along the Citarum River which are always flooded when the river overflowa, and it routinely occurs every year, but the area is shrinking because ten years ago it was 7,500 hectares," Laksono said.

The minister hoped the Citarum river normalization project would be a permanent solution to the remaining 1.400 hectares of land that is always flooded when the river overflows.

As follow-up efforts to accelerate the project, the central government through the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare, Ministry of Public Works, and Ministry of Environment would soon hold a meeting with the West Java provincal government later in February.

He hoped the meeting would find the best solution for the acceleration of the normalization of Citarum River.

In response to the central governemnt's initiative, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said he welcomed the plan to accelerate the Citarum River normalization project.

He also welcomed the planned cross sector meeting of the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare, the Ministry of Public Works, and Ministry of Environment, as well as other relevant agencies to discuss and determine the most effective way to conquer the Citarum River.

"The Citarum River problem must be resolved from the upstream to the down stream, and I welcome the central government's efforts," the governor said.

He also added, so far the Citarum River issue had only been discussed by the West Java provincial fovernment and the Ministry of Public Works.

"This time, many parties will be involved, namely the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare and the Ministry of the Environment, thus the Citarum River flooding issue is not only to be discussed from the technical viewpoint but also from the environmental viewpoint , and I hope the effort will produce a better solution," he said.

But the question now was, whether the government's efforts will actually produce an effective and permanent solution for the community. Will the annual evacuation of residents from floods be stopped?. Do the children no longer need to play in dirty water pools that causes skin disease each rainy season?

The answer lies in the seriousness of the government, both central and local , which have promised to immediately resolve the difficulties faced by people in flood-prone areas.***


X