The Ministry of Public Works (PU) has identified the condition of the Bendung and Regional Irrigation Network (D.I.) Pante Lhong Irrigation in Bireuen Regency, Aceh Province after the Sumatra disaster.
"For D.I, it must be identified and a design for handling must be made first because the river is widening significantly so that this dam can still be used," said Minister of PU Dody Hanggodo in his statement in Jakarta, Friday.
"During the process, it will involve labor-intensive work to normalize the irrigation channel so that it can drain water to the fields," he explained.
The identification is said to be an initial step in handling damage to irrigation infrastructure due to flooding and water overflow.
Bendung D.I. Pante Lhong is the main source of irrigation water for 6,562 hectares of rice fields through the intake building on the left.
Based on the results of the initial review, he said, the dam currently cannot function optimally due to sediment deposits that occur on the water intake/capture building and the mercury apron.
"Damage was also identified on the right embankment upstream of the bend, as well as sediment deposits on the trash rack, mud bag and mud bag flushing," he said.
This condition was exacerbated by the limpasan air incident which caused the break of the river embankment upstream and had an impact on the bend body.
"So that the Bendung D.I. Pante Lhong can be re-functionalized, it requires handling in the form of rebuilding the embankment, normalizing the waste filter, and normalizing the mud bag," he said.
"In addition to damage to the main bendung building, the results of the identification also showed significant damage to the irrigation network and the D.I. Pante Lhong rice fields," he said.
A number of closed channels collapsed due to flooding, as well as the loss of embankments on several sections of the channel due to runoff.
"Sediment deposits were also found in secondary channels and rice fields, with the affected rice fields reaching an area of approximately 1,282 hectares. This condition causes disruption of irrigation water distribution and decreases the function of irrigation services for farmers," he said.
To restore the function of irrigation networks and rice fields, it is necessary to rehabilitate damaged channels, normalize channels, and rehabilitate agricultural land affected by floods.
Rp79 BillionTotal budget needs for handling the irrigation network and rice fields of D.I. Pante Lhong are estimated at approximately Rp. 79 billion.
"Later, for the identification and design of the drainage problem, it will be handed over to the Directorate of Engineering Design of the Directorate General of Water Resources,"
"For the identification and design of the problems of the dams and irrigation networks later can be through the Directorate of Water Resources Engineering so that it can be known what kind of handling will later gradually be able to irrigate the rice fields," said Dody.
The Ministry of PU through the technical planning of handling the irrigation infrastructure of D.I. Pante Lhong is expected to accelerate the recovery of irrigation services, maintain the sustainability of agricultural production, and support food security in Bireuen Regency and its surroundings.
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