Tangerang seeks help on floods
Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
The Tangerang municipal administration called on residents not to dispose of garbage into waterways and to plant more trees to prevent flooding.
In response to residents' complaints of developments believed to have created floods in several areas, Mayor Wahidin Halim said he ordered relevant city agencies to be more selective in giving building permits to housing developers.
"We don't want the construction of buildings and housing complexes to damage the environment. We have obliged each developer to build at least a man-made lake for water catchment and a proper drainage system," he said Friday.
Wahidin said the administration will begin feasibility studies for flood handling and the project is expected to start next year.
"We can go faster with the flood handling project should the central government and the Banten and Jakarta provincial administrations provide financial assistance," he said.
The central government promised in 2006 to disburse Rp 250 billion for the municipality to build dams and revitalize lakes.
According to Wahidin, recent studies conducted by the administration showed that Tangerang municipality needs a total of Rp 1.2 billion (five times the annual budget) to eliminate flood problems in the city.
This year the administration allocated part of its budget to develop drainage infrastructure.
"We cannot wait for the funds (promised by the central government)," Wahidin said.
Seven districts, including Cileduk, Karang Tengah, Cipondoh and Cibodas, were submerged by floods early this month.
Similarly, the Tangerang regency administration also saw flooding hit many districts in the regency early this month.
The focus of the administration, however, is on repairing roads and bridges damaged by the flooding.
Head of the regency's public works agency, Akip Syamsudin, said 45 out of existing 150 bridges across the regency were seriously damaged. Potholes, he said, were seen on 65 percent of the total 1,200 kilometers of road.
"Road and bridge repair is our priority now," he said.
Yulianto, head of water resource department at the agency, said floods inundated many districts in the regency because 113 small rivers flowing from the south to the north had become shallow and narrow.
"Illegal occupation of river banks by residents who have erected buildings along the banks is also a contributing factor to floods because the rivers can no longer accommodate water," he said.