Bima Arya Surati Anies Regarding Flooding, DKI Deputy Governor Affirms That He Cannot Work Alone, Hopes Jokowi's Hand

JAKARTA - Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto wrote to DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan regarding the handling of floods related to the flow of the Ciliwung River. Anies responded to the letter by emphasizing that flood management could not be carried out by only one regional government.

"For flood control, we cannot work alone, not only Jakarta, Bogor, even Depok, Tangerang, and even Cianjur," DKI Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria told reporters, Monday, February 22.

Riza alluded to the Presidential Decree of Joko Widodo (Jokowi) regarding the handling of floods involving the Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi and Cianjur areas. Riza hopes that the team formed by the central government, which is commanded by the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Sofyan Djalil, will work optimally.

"I hope that in the future, the task force that was formed, under the ministry of Pak Sofyan Djalil, can also work effectively and already has sufficient budget to help control floods in all Jabodetabekjur areas including Jakarta," said Riza.

"So we see, God willing, we are sure that the central government will make a big contribution with various programs and efforts including its budget for flood control around Jakarta and around Jakarta, including up to Cianjur," he continued.

Mayor of Bogor, West Java, Bima Arya said that the upstream area, namely Bogor, is often accused of causing flooding in Jakarta, even though many factors have caused flooding in the national capital.

"The flow of water from the upstream is one of the causes of flooding in Jakarta, but if the water level in Katulampa Siaga 1. Yesterday, the water level in Katulampa Weir was only 3," said Bima Arya in Bogor City.

According to Bima Arya, some locations in Jakarta have been flooded. This means that the volume of water in Jakarta is already high.

Talking upstream, he said, was not just talking about water shipments from Bogor, but also talking about the conditions of the Ciliwung river basin (DAS) from upstream to downstream in Jakarta.

"The causes of flooding in Jakarta, among others, are also influenced by the conditions of the Ciliwung watershed to Jakarta, where many illegal houses are built, lots of garbage and waste, and silting occurs," he said.

According to Bima, from the Ciliwung expedition he conducted from Bogor City to Manggarai Water Gate in Jakarta, on Wednesday and Thursday, November 10-11 2020, he had sent a letter to the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan.

"In the letter, we conveyed the results of the Ciliwung expedition, which suggested that the handling of the Ciliwung watershed could not be done individually, but must be jointly and comprehensively integrated," he said.

The flood problem in Jakarta, he said, cannot be resolved unilaterally and in a short time, but must be together from upstream to downstream, and requires a long process. "The handling of flood problems in Jakarta cannot be partial and temporary during the rainy season," he said.