TNI's Manunggal Air Program, Agricultural Water Crisis Solution In Three Banyumas Villages

TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto and Army Chief of Staff General Maruli Simanjuntak. (Doc TNI)

TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto emphasized the TNI's commitment to help the community overcome the water crisis, especially for agricultural irrigation. "Water is a basic necessity that is very necessary for every citizen. The TNI is committed to being present and assisting the community in meeting this need," said the TNI Commander when inaugurating the hydram pump installation in Rawalo District, Banyumas, Central Java, Wednesday 9 October.

This hydram pump installation is part of the TNI AD Manunggal Air Program, which is designed to help the community, especially in areas where water is difficult to access clean water. This hydram pump technology utilizes water flow from the Serayu Movement Dam, flowing water from the lowlands to the highlands without requiring electricity or fuel. This is possible thanks to the natural gravity pressure from the water flow to irrigate agricultural land in three villages.

In his remarks, the TNI Commander emphasized that this program will greatly help farmers in irrigating their rice fields, so that it has an impact on improving the welfare of the community and food security in the region.

As is known, the hydram pump program was initiated by General Maruli Simanjuntak while serving as Pangdam IX/Udayana. He was moved to help people in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) who had difficulty getting clean water. This program later developed to a national scale and is now one of the superior programs of the Indonesian Army spread across various regions in Indonesia.

The hydram pump in Banyumas is expected to be able to irrigate more than 343 hectares of rice fields in Tambaknegara, Rawalo, and Sanggeman areas, as well as be a long-term solution to the problem of water availability there. In the future, it is hoped that this pump capacity can continue to be increased until it is able to irrigate more than 1,000 hectares of agricultural land.

The construction of this hydram pump installation also received full support from the local community. voluntarily, they are involved from the construction stage to the management of hydram pump installations and water reservoirs, so that they can continue to function optimally.

For information, the piping installation carried out by TNI soldiers covers the furthest distance of up to 14 kilometers, to ensure that water can be distributed evenly to the three villages in Banyumas.