Bukittinggi City Government Dredges The Sand Of The Sianok River After The Flood

Heavy equipment from the Bukittinggi City Public Works Department (PUPR) carried out sand dredging in the Sianok Bukittinggi River, Thursday (6/6/2024). BETWEEN/Altas Maulana

BUKITTINGGI - The Bukittinggi City Government through the Public Works for Public Housing (PUPR) followed up on the normalization process of the Sianok River through sand dredging after the flood overflow occurred.

"The Cianok River has the authority of the province, but we took the initiative to dredge and clean the river flow first considering that the rainfall is still high, worried that the flood will return," said Head of the Bukittinggi PUPR Service, Rahmat AE, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, June 6.

He said that one day after the flood in Ngarai Sianok that occurred on Monday (3/6), the Bukittinggi City PUPR had already dredged sand material based on the river because the sand level was approaching the riverbank.

"Since it was normalized in 2018, until now there has been silting of the Cianok River, as a result, the water rose until there was a flood when it broke or an increase in the water discharge in the upstream direction," said Rahmat.

PUPR lowers heavy equipment to dredge sand material at the bottom of the river by initial dredging is carried out to form river flows that have been filled with sand material.

Meanwhile, West Sumatra Governor Mahyeldi Ansharullah while reviewing the impact of the disaster in Bukittinggi said the excavated sediment would be used as a pile on the left and right of the river shoulder in order to strengthen river walls when there was an increase in water discharge.

"This step is expected to be able to prevent further collapses, including planting trees along the riverbanks," he said.

In addition, the governor also suggested that local governments build a kind of dam check in the Sampik Bekik area. The steps are expected to be able to mitigate further flooding.