Govt of Jakarta - UGM Establish Water Management Coop

Jakarta, Sept 24 (Antara) - The government of Jakarta and Gajah Mada University (UGM) have established water management cooperation to overcome land subsidence in Jakarta. The agreement was signed by Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, and UGM Rector Prof Pratikno at Jakarta City Hall on Tuesday. On the occasion, Jokowi said the cooperation was established to address the threat of land subsidence and floods in Jakarta. "The flood management is different from the memorandum of understanding that was signed with Rotterdam mayor in the Netherlands because it deals with the injection of water into the soil to prevent it from sinking," added Jokowi. Meanwhile, Prof Pratikno said the land in Jakarta sinks every year and causes flood water to inundate the city. "We hope to overcome land subsidence by injecting water into the soil," he said. He noted that land subsidence cannot be addressed by building catchment wells alone but by injecting water 250 meters under the ground.