Returning From Jakarta, Mayor Eri Wears Batik And Flip-Flops Immediately Checks For Floods In Ngagel

Photo via Surabaya City Government

JAKARTA - Heavy rain and strong winds hit Surabaya City Tuesday, January 18. Mayor of Surabaya Eri Cahyadi immediately moved to monitor a number of points in the location of the City of Heroes even though he had just arrived from Jakarta.

Using flip-flops and a batik shirt, Mayor Eri checked the puddles that occurred in the Ngagel Timur Street area of Surabaya. While checking, he also coordinated using HT with his staff to bring in PMK cars.

This PMK car was brought in as a tactical step to clean up the garbage that clogs the crossing of Ngagel Timur Street which leads to Ngagel Jaya Selatan Street.

"I will make sure first what is the cause of this flood. I hope there will be no more flooding," said Mayor Eri when communicating with local residents as quoted from the city government's official website.

In the check, Mayor Eri was also seen accompanied by a number of related agencies within the Surabaya City Government (Pemkot). In fact, the ranks of the sub-district and kelurahan, participated in the field to find solutions together to solve the puddles.

"We already have a protocol, so we all go to the field. Thank God, today we can handle heavy rains (puddles) on Basuki Rahmat, Panglima Sudirman, Dharmawangsa Street. But we don't want to have puddles every time there is rain," said Cak Eri, a nickname to the mayor of Surabaya.

Therefore, Mayor Eri said that the Surabaya City Government is currently working on a number of pump houses to reverse the direction of the water flow in an effort to anticipate inundation. However, in the process, he also did not want to actually be the cause of the puddle. "We have been working on the construction of several pump houses," he said.

While walking around during the heavy rain, Mayor Eri admitted that he found a puddle of water in the area of Ngagel Timur Street. Suddenly, he immediately stopped and checked to find a solution to the cause of the puddle.

"Earlier, we saw that there was a crossing (channel) in front of it, how come it is still flooded. In fact, we saw for ourselves that there was a lot of garbage. Because the location of the blockage was difficult to reach, we sprayed it with high-pressure water from the PMK car," he explained.

From the testimony of local residents, Mayor Eri said that the North and East Ngagel Jaya areas bordering South Ngagel Jaya have been flooded for 25 years when it rains. After finding a solution today, he made sure to immediately solve the problem.

"I told the residents, God willing, this year it will be finished," he said.

To resolve the puddle in the area, Mayor Eri instructed his staff to dredge the channel crossing. This includes the plan to add channel crossings in the area to be more able to accommodate the volume of water flow when it rains heavily.

"I saw what the problem was, we already know. It means that there is a road that we will make back again, we will build a channel on the right and left sides, after that mainly Ngagel Street, we will make another crossing," he said.

On the other hand, Mayor Eri also asked the sub-district and local village heads to coordinate with business owners who stand above the channel. The plan is for each business parcel to be made a channel cover measuring 1x2 meters. It is hoped that in the future each of these channels can be opened and cleaned.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Water Resources and Highways Service (DSDABM) of Surabaya City, Lilik Arijanto, ensured that she immediately accelerated the settlement of puddles that occurred in the Ngagel Street area of Surabaya.

"What is certain is that we need to accelerate the flow to the disposal site in Bozem Bratang. Here comes the Bratang casement, he is at Kali Sumo being pulled by a pump in Bozem Bratang," said Lilik while accompanying Mayor Eri at the location.

When inundation occurs, said Lilik, the volume of water in the Ngagel Jaya Selatan Street channel, it looks like there is a difference of about 70 cm. Meanwhile in the Ngagel Timur Street area, the water flow is gentle. This means that the acceleration of the disposal site needs to be carried out in the Ngagel Jaya Selatan channel.