Gosh, Dozens Of Liang Lahat TPU Bambu Apus For COVID-19 Patients Were Flooded After Heavy Rain

A ready-made burrow in the Bambu Apus TPU, East Jakarta, filled with rainwater puddles (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Dozens of burrows that were prepared as burial sites for the bodies of COVID-19 at the Bambu Apus Public Cemetery (TPU), Cipayung, East Jakarta, were filled with rainwater puddles, Thursday, February 18, noon.

"The burrows filled with rainwater are all we are preparing for the funeral of the bodies. The number is around 30 spots in blad 5," said Head of the Bamboo Apus TPU Implementing Unit, Koko, as reported by Antara, in Jakarta.

Joko said, at first the grave was deliberately prepared by the funeral management to speed up the funeral process for COVID-19 patients.

This is because the number of bodies buried under the COVID-19 procedure in recent weeks is relatively high, reaching an average of 15-30 bodies per day.

As many as 40 officers who dug graves at the site, said Koko, were overwhelmed with the number of bodies that had to be buried manually every day.

Since the last week, TPU Bambu Apus has received the assistance of a backhoe loader to speed up the burrow excavation process.

"There are 40 people who dig our graves, but they also have to rest, so they will be assisted by heavy equipment from the DKI Provincial Government," he said.

Since its operation, the heavy equipment has generated dozens of burrows, leaving around 30 graves that are currently ready to use.

"However, due to the arrival of the bodies being buried there was less, so that when it rained the burrows filled with water. Because they were left open. In addition, the soil was also classified as sticky so the water did not easily seep into the ground," he said.

Countermeasures

Koko said that TPU Bambu Apus was originally a plantation area with a sloping land contour.

The 3,000 square meter plot was opened on Thursday, January 21 as an emergency burial facility for COVID-19 patients. "Because the Pondok Ranggon TPU is full, so the alternative is the Bambu Apus TPU," he said.

Of the total five funeral blades available, he said, four of them had been declared full, namely blads 1, 2, 3 and 4.

"We just opened this blad 5 to accommodate about 100 bodies. But its position is on a sloping land, so if it rains the water will automatically stop," he said.

Koko ensured that the burrow filled with rainwater did not hinder the funeral process for the corpse. "Because we have two pumps to suck up puddles in the grave before we bury the bodies," he said.