A Month From The Target, Rorotan COVID-19 TPU Began To Be Used

ILLUSTRATION / Public Cemetery (TPU) Bambu Apus (Photo of Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The DKI Provincial Government has started to open a public cemetery (TPU) specifically for COVID-19 bodies in Rorotan today. This TPU is located in RW 09, Rorotan Village, Cilincing District, North Jakarta.

"The Rorotan TPU has started receiving services today. Three bodies have been buried today," said North Jakarta City Forest and Parks Sub-dept. Mila Ananda, to VOI, Friday, March 26.

The land clearing for the Rorotan TPU land was delayed by one month from the work target. Previously, the DKI Provincial Government targeted that by the end of February the Rorotan TPU could be used.

The reason for the long preparation of land for the TPU Rorotan grave is the process of land maturation. Several months earlier, the soil structure of Rorotan TPU was still quite wet because it was located in a coastal area of Jakarta. Therefore, the DKI Provincial Government has worked around this by clearing the land in the form of backfilling.

"Land clearing has been carried out by backfilling the excavated land, in collaboration with the MRT, the Water Resources Service, and the National Highways Agency," Mila explained.

Mila said that currently the TPU Rorotan cemetery is prioritized for bodies that have DKI ID cards. "It will give priority to the body of COVID-19 with a DKI Jakarta ID card because the condition is emergency given the limited burial ground for COVID-19 in the DKI Jakarta area," he said.

The DKI Provincial Government has prepared a cemetery for the TPU Rorotan area of 2 hectares. However, currently only 8,000 square meters are ready for use with a capacity of 1,500 grave plots.

Meanwhile, the construction process of the Rorotan TPU is still ongoing. Gradually, work on the access road and lighting is still being worked on. The North Jakarta City Parks and Forest Administration Sub-Department deployed 18 officers divided into three teams to support the funeral process for the COVID-19 body.

"We will alert them there, including 4 security guards. In the future, Rorotan TPU will be styled like any other TPU," he added.