Flood Victims In East Jakarta Riverbanks Request Normalization Of Ciliwung

Firefighters and residents spray water to clean up the silt from the floods in the East Pejaten area, Pasar Minggu (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - A number of flood victims along the river in the East Jakarta area have asked the government to resume the normalization of Ciliwung River, which is currently experiencing silting due to sedimentation.

"If possible, dredge it deeper so it doesn't overflow. This is already very shallow", said one of the flood victims in Cawang district, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, Puspita (41) reported by Antara, Tuesday, February 9.

The floods caused by the overflow of the Ciliwung River in the local area gradually receded on Tuesday morning. However, some houses along the river are still submerged with water height ranging from 20 centimeters to 1 meter.

Some residents whose houses were not flooded began to clean their furniture and terraces from the silt.

"This morning it receded. Some residents cleaned their houses which had receded. For those near the river, the houses were still flooded one to two meters away. They are still evacuating. I cleaned the water pump. It was initiated by the residents during the flood to rinse the house", said local resident Abdurahman.

The Head of Kampung Melayu district, Setiyawan, said that his party also encouraged the central government and DKI Jakarta Province to immediately normalize the Ciliwung River.

"The last time there was normalization was in 2015 to 2017. Indeed, there needs to be another normalization because it is already superficial", he said.

Setiyawan said there were around 817 residents in neighborhoods 04, 05, 07, and 08 Kebon Pala who had been affected by the flood since last Sunday, February 7.

"Currently, the flood has receded", he said.

Setiyawan hopes that the Ciawi and Sukamahi Dam projects in Bogor Regency, West Java, can be completed immediately so that the water that flows downstream can be controlled optimally.