MPR Chairman Asks All Sides To Cooperate In Handling Floods

Jakarta, Jan 21 (ANTARA) - Chairman of the People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Taufiq Kiemas appealed to all parties to cooperate in handling floods in Jakarta. "We hope that we all should cooperate in tackling the flood problems. It is impossible for Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo to work alone, we should provide mutual help," Taufiq said here on Monday. Earlier, Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo (Jokowi) met with the MPR chairman before he also met with the Chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR), Marzuki Alie and his deputy speakers Pramono Anung, Priyobudi and Taufik Kurniawan. The Jakarta governor also met with the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) chairman, Irman Gusman. Taufiq said that the flood problems could not be solved by the Jakarta governor and his Deputy Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alone. Governor Jokowi, in the meantime, also stressed that efforts to solve the flood problems in Jakarta needed to be supported by all sides. "The flood problem could not be solved by the Jakarta government but it needs the support of others," he said. Therefore, the governor said, he was consulting with the MPR, DPR and DPD, so that the flood problem could be coped with immediately. "We have several plans and stages of work that we are going to do soon. And for this, I need the support of all sides," Jokowi said. He said that there were at least six programs that would be carried out shortly, among others, the acceleration of the normalization of the Ciliwung, Pesnagrahan, Angke and Sunter rivers. The other immediate efforts are to build a spillway linking the Ciliwung river with the East Flood Canal, and to construct two dams the in Ciawi and Cimanggis areas. "We will also produce as many as possible catchment wells along the upstream to downstream areas, and build a high capacity multipurpose tunnel," he said. Besides, water pumps would also be built in Ancol, North Jakarta, he said. "The large scale pumps are expected to reduce water pools and floods," he said. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Sunday he has agreed the central government`s plan to earmark Rp2 trillion for flood handling in the capital city. "Jakarta is not only a capital city but also a central government and economic activities. So, the floods should not be handled by the regional government of Jakarta only but also by the central government," the president told a press conference on Sunday. He made the remarks on the occasion of a coordination meeting with a number of cabinet ministers and Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo in the Sports Hall in Jalan Otista, East Jakarta. The budget would be used to finance a package of disaster projects which comprised a spillway project to divert Ciliwung water the East Flood Canal. This is expected to reduce the volume of water flow into the Western Flood Canal. This project would cost a total fund of Rp500 billion which would be borne by the central government. "I have coordinated with the leadership of Commission V of the House of Representative (DPR), the finance minister and the minister of public works to assure that the budget would be made available," the president said.