Semarang Mayor Checks Flood Management Project In Dinar Indah

Semarang Mayor Hevearita Gunaryanti Rahayu. (ANTARA/HO-Semarang City Government)

Semarang Mayor Hevearita Gunaryanti Rahayu checked the flood management project at Dinar Indah Housing, Tembalang District, Semarang, especially the construction of embankments.

"The layers were first made 'bronjong', strengthening from plastic membranes. Then, plus there is a'sandbag'. So, everything is already running," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, December 11.

Ita, Hevearita's nickname, asked for the construction of the embankment along the Babon River border to be accelerated, considering that it had entered the rainy season which was feared that there would be another flood.

Moreover, he said, the river has a bend route which when the flood floods burst, so the work needs to be completed immediately so that the construction of the building is completely mature.

"Because the name construction is afraid that it will not mature. It's early December, it's already the rainy season. So, I ask BBWS (BBWS Pemali Juana) and Public Works (Public Works Office) to prioritize first," he said.

He also asked the sub-district and village heads to approach residents who are still not pleased if some of the land is affected by the construction of the strengthening of the river embankment.

Ita hopes that residents of Dinar Indah Housing can support each other for flood management in the area, and the Semarang City Government is willing if land leases are applied for the construction.

"Maybe they feel the land, so they have to be treated for rent or something else. Yes, we have followed the existing agreement. I also ask that the budget from this DPU cannot be shifted to BTT (unexpected shop) because this is still an emergency response," he said.

In addition to flood management, the Semarang City Government has also offered assistance for relocation to flats for residents of Dinar Indah, but residents refuse because they consider the flats to be comparable to the value of the construction of their houses.

The residents of Dinar Indah only want to build a new house on other lands so that this problem is still a polemic because of many considerations.

"If it is built, whose land is this, so yes we will try to find it but it is a long-term step. We are trying to find it but until now we have not found it," he said.

"And if the land is the government must be rented or we have to donate and this process is also long, so we work together to think about it," he concluded.

In early January, Dinar Indah Housing Semarang was hit by flash floods due to the breakdown of the Pengkol River embankment, upstream of the Babon River which is adjacent to residential areas, and resulted in the death of one victim.

The flash flood was the worst, and the umpteenth time it hit the housing. The water level during the flash flood in early January reached the roof of a resident's house.