Celebrating New Year's Eve While Watching Water In Manggarai
Two heavy equipment at work at Manggarai Water Gate (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

JAKARTA - Fajar Juli Heryadi (32) is sipping iced milk coffee that he bought through a food delivery application on the terrace of Pintu Air Manggarai post, Central Jakarta, Thursday, December 2. He has just recorded the water level from the peil scale or vertical meter to mark the water level at Manggarai Water Gate.

The results of monitoring at the Manggara Water Gate, at 15.30 WIB today, the water level is at 765 centimeters, which means it has the status of Alert III.

Taking off his hat and sitting in front of the terrace, Fajar, who works as the operator of the Manggarai Water Gate, told the VOI team that he had not returned home in three days, monitoring the water level.

Fajar spent the New Year's Eve 2020 celebration with his wife and children at home. Heavy rain that flushed the Jabodetabek area since New Year's Eve forced him to continue to monitor and report the water level.

"We, as operators, totaling 4 people, have not returned home from the morning of December 31, 2019 until now," Fajar said at the location, Thursday, January 2.

Manggarai Water Gate Guard Fajar Juli Heryadi (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

In fact, during normal times, Fajar and his colleagues have an alternate work system, with one working day and one day off. When they are on duty, monitoring the water level is carried out periodically every one hour.

However, that does not apply if the intensity of rain is high and floods come at several points in Jakarta, such as what happened on New Year's Eve. If you have this, they have to stay and monitor the water level every 15 minutes.

"I went home at most just to get clothes, then immediately came back here. To sleep, bathe, and eat here too," said Fajar, laughing.

He sighed for a moment, then continued his story. "For the family I have asked for their understanding. Fortunately they can understand, because this has become a risk and our job responsibility. If it's urgent like this, it must be ready," he continued.

Manggarai Water Gate (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

Even so, Fajar and a number of Manggarai Water Gate officers still did not want to miss the New Year's Eve. They celebrate by roasting chickens and makeshift corn.

"We just buy materials around here, there are one or two people who come out to buy. For fireworks, we just look in the sky, have people. Don't buy, save money," Fajar laughed again.

He hopes that the intensity of the rain will not get higher in the next few months, even though he knows that BMKG has predicted that February to March will be the peak of the rainy season. This hope is intended so that he can run the work system like normal, so that he can spend time with his family.

"Now the water level has started to recede because the sea water is not tide like last year's New Year's Eve. Anyway, we are on standby when it is normal, when the water level is below 750. Then we can go home in turn," Fajar concluded.

Two guards at Manggarai Watergate are resting (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

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