Chairman Of The DKI DPRD Criticizes Anies: Don't Just Work After A Flood

JAKARTA - Head of DKI Jakarta DPRD, Prasetio Edi Marsudi, assesses that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is slow to anticipate floods in Jakarta in the rainy season at the end of this year.

This assessment is based on the motion of DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who recently instructed the improvement of flood prevention and control when the seasons change.

Meanwhile, on September 22, DKI experienced flooding, especially in riverbank areas and inundation on the highway. As a result, 104 residents were displaced and 63 RTs were inundated.

"Handling of this flood needs to be anticipated in advance. Don't come to work just after the flood. This is no longer thinking about popular or unpopular policies. But this is in the interests of all citizens, the fate of Jakarta residents," Prasetio told reporters, Monday, September 28.

Prasetio explained that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government's lack of seriousness in controlling floods can be seen from the data that there are 82 urban villages prone to flooding in DKI Jakarta as of September 2020. This figure has increased from the beginning of the year which amounted to 56 villages.

According to Pras, the DKI Provincial Government's lack of seriousness in handling floods can also be seen in the weak supervision of the sidewalk revitalization program.

According to him, the revitalization of the sidewalks along Pangeran Diponegoro Street actually resulted in a blockage of the water rope, thus flooding the housing of local residents.

"At the beginning of last year Jakarta was again surrounded by floods. Including in the Menteng area, Jalan Diponegoro. The reason is due to the widening of the sidewalks which do not pay attention to the existing channels. If it is like this, how will it be monitored," said Prasetio.

According to him, since several years ago flood mitigation is no longer a priority program in Jakarta. This can be seen from the reduction in flood management ceilings in recent years.

Because DKI received a loan from PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) facilitated by the Ministry of Finance, Prasetio asked for an allocation of special loan funds for flood management of IDR 5.2 trillion to be disbursed immediately so that the program can be implemented.

"With the availability of the budget, it is time for the Governor to improve the management and standard of processing for handling floods," he said.

Anies previously issued DKI Governor's Instruction (Ingub) Number 52 of 2020 concerning the Acceleration of Improving Flood Control Systems in the Era of Climate Change.

In the Ingub, Anies ordered the mayors and regents, heads of agencies, offices, bureaus, sub-districts and village heads to accelerate the improvement of flood control in the current transition season.

In the flood detection system instructions, Anies ordered the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) to prepare an early warning for flood events that can be monitored online and announced no later than the day before the incident.

Anies also asked BPBD and the Social Service to ensure logistics, mitigation facilities and flood handling evacuation in a state that is ready to face extreme rainfall.

Then, Anies asked the officials to speed up the construction of infrastructure for flood control that had not been realized, such as repairing polders, building reservoirs, coastal protection embankments, and drainage systems.

Anies also ordered the Water Resources Agency to complete land acquisition to increase the storage capacity of the Pesanggrahan, Ciliwung Angke, Sunter and Jatikramat rivers.