Floods Are Still A Problem In Medan, Bobby Nasution Targets Widening Of Parit Rampung December

Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution (left) listened to residents' protests over the widening of drainage in the Gold Trench, Medan, Tuesday (5/9/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Diskominfo Medan City)

The Mayor of Medan, North Sumatra, Bobby Nasution, said that the work on widening drainage or ditches to overcome flooding on Jalan Sampali, Medan Area, will be completed in December 2023.

"There are 170 hectares of area that can benefit from this work," said Bobby after reviewing the arrangement of a drainage widening pole in Parit Emas, Medan, as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, September 5.

This drainage widening, he said, was from a width that varied to seven meters to overcome flooding so far in the Asia Road area, Kotamatsumdan Ismailiyah.

Floods that hit the three areas, one of which was Jalan Asia, which risks reducing business and economic activities in the trade center.

Data from the Medan City Water Resources and Construction Development Agency this year has allocated a Medan City APBD of IDR 1.3 trillion, including IDR 582.3 billion for the management and development of the drainage system.

"The Asian road is an economic area, a business area. If the flood problem is not resolved, we are worried that these business activities will decline," he said.

Bobby said that this drainage widening work should have been carried out about two months ago, but it was not done because there were pros and cons in the surrounding community.

His party also heard public protests against the work of widening the drainage, one of which resulted in the size of the road getting smaller.

"This widening does not take the community's area. Even if it is at the very far end, we will also release it," said Bobby accompanied by the Head of the Water Resources, Highways and Construction Agency of Medan City, Topan Ginting.

Bobb Nasution also emphasized that 90 percent of the areas used for widening drainage are roads belonging to the Medan City Government.

"No residents have been evicted, no one has been relocated. What we are using is the government's road area," he said.