Memories Of Today, August 21, 2015: Overcoming Jakarta Floods, Pulo Village Is Evicted

The reduction of Kampung Pulo which affected thousands of families was homeless. (Between/Rivan Awal Lingga)

JAKARTA Memories of today, eight years ago, August 21, 2015, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemprov) started a eviction in Pulo Village. The eviction was perpetuated as a form of the government's efforts to anticipate flooding in Jakarta.

Previously, Ahok's power and the DKI Jakarta government perpetuated the efforts to criticize many parties. The DKI Jakarta government is considered not to provide a solution for most evicted residents. The power of attorney continues to carry on with the evictions that leave thousands of families homeless.

The leadership of Joko Widodo and Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) was once greeted with great fanfare. They are trusted by all Jakarta residents as Governor and Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta 2012-2017.

This power made Jokowi-Ahok perpetuate all the studies to build Jakarta. Efforts to overcome the Jakarta floods are one of them. This step made Jokowi-Ahok rack their brains. They plan many things. From the construction of Green Open Space (RTH) to the normalization of the Ciliwung River.

Efforts to perpetuate the idea of tackling Jakarta floods are not easy in fact. The normalization of the Ciliwung River, for example. Efforts to restore the condition of the river width are difficult, not playing. The DKI government was forced to perpetuate a difficult decision in the form of evictions.

Jokowi-Ahok also glanced that they would displace three RWs in Pulo Village, East Jakarta. Thousands of families were invited by them to take the lottery to move to the West Jatinegara Flats. This step was increasingly carried out when Jokowi left his position as Governor of DKI Jakarta and was replaced by Ahok.

The RTH dissati of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government under Ahok's leadership by repurchasing land so that it can be used to build green open space. Apart from green open space, the DKI Provincial Government even plans to build a Blue Open Space (RTB), namely building reservoirs for water reservoirs.

For Ahok, river normalization is a rational solution that must be taken. For this purpose, the place where residents who inhabit the riverbank area have to be evicted, and Ahok compensates for their residence in the flats that have been provided," explained Rafif Pamenang Imawan in the book Sudah Senja in Jakarta (2020).

The plan for the normalization of the Ciliwung River was also accelerated. Even though they were opposed by the residents of Pulo Village. They felt that the DKI Jakarta government had to pay compensation. Meanwhile, Ahok considers efforts to move residents to flats to the maximum. The DKI government is unable to bear the many compensations because the land used to build is considered illegal.

As a result, the eviction was then perpetuated on August 21, 2015. The eviction made all the residents of Pulo Village hit by grief. They witnessed for themselves how their houses were destroyed. A total of 260 houses have been razed to the ground on the first day. The eviction will also be continued on the second and third days.

In the second day of demolition, road access from Kampung Melayu to Senen is still blocked. The flow of vehicles was diverted to Jalan Jatinegara Barat 1. Some residents of Kampung Pulo actually looked engrossed in watching when six backhoes demolished their houses. According to Narto, residents of RW 03 Kampung Pulo, all of their neighbors have been relocated to the West Jatinegara Flats.

The demolition of Kampung Pulo will continue until next Wednesday. A total of 519 houses in Pulo Village will be flattened. There are 926 families affected by evictions. So far, 437 families have taken the draw for the placement of flats and 351 families of them have taken the key to the West Jatinegara Flats," wrote the Koran Tempo report entitled Penggusuran Kampung Pulo Lancar on Day Two (2015).