The Importance Of Flood Management Starting From The Upstream

Ciawi Dam. (Photo: Twitter @Jokowi)

JAKARTA - The large flood that occurred in the Jabodetabek area is considered to need serious handling starting from the upstream. President Joko Widodo ordered ministries and local governments to work closely together to continue building infrastructure upstream that can prevent flooding in the capital city of DKI Jakarta.

"Mr. President directs that it will continue. So in the upstream flood management, we will build two dams, namely the Sukamahi Dam and the Ciawi Dam. We will finish all of them in 2020," said Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono at a press conference. at the Jakarta Presidential Office on Friday January 3.

According to him, the progress of land acquisition for the dam has reached 95 percent, so that physical construction can be carried out as soon as possible.

Apart from the construction of the dam in the upstream area, the government will also continue a number of development programs in the downstream area, one of which is the normalization of the Ciliwung River.

"This is the West Flood Canal, the East Canal Flood, then the normalization of the Ciliwung River and the intersection between the Ciliwung River and the East Canal Flood," explained Basuki.

For the normalization program, the PUPR Ministry has prepared flats in the Pasar Rumput area for 800 families as temporary residences.

Efforts to normalize or naturalize the river will also soon be carried out by widening the river body.

Although the terms differ, between Basuki and the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan, the essence of the step is the same, namely widening the river so that it can accommodate more water.

Basuki explained that the river normalization or naturalization program is a master plan for flood prevention in DKI Jakarta.

According to him, the PUPR Ministry is working on infrastructure development, while the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is responsible for acquiring land.

"We just need to carry out this 'master plan'. There is nothing new. This is the 1973, 1997, 2007. This is the same as the Ciliwung River, this is the West Flood Canal, the East Flood Canal, the Ciliwung River corner. Just do this," he explained. Basuki.

The East Flood Canal, added Basuki, has also had a positive impact on reducing flooding in eastern Jakarta such as Kelapa Gading.

In order to further reduce the flow of water in the Ciliwung River, the central government has built a 1.2 kilometer long river of Ciliwung River.

However, the construction has only been achieved along 600 meters due to land acquisition constraints.

According to Basuki, to deal with the flood problem, close cooperation between ministries and local governments is needed, and all institutions must carry out their respective responsibilities according to plan.