Pramono ensures that the "garbage island" of Muara Angke is clean, asks for routine cleaning to be carried out

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung (Diah Ayu/VOI)

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has ensured that the pile of garbage that had formed a land resembling an island in the waters of Muara Angke, North Jakarta, has been cleaned up.

The cleaning was carried out for about 3.5 days after the garbage piled up in the estuary area which became the meeting of a number of river streams from the Jakarta area.

"So, (garbage) on the coast of Muara Angke in the last 3.5 days we have cleaned," said Pramono to reporters, Sunday, June 7.

Pramono admitted that the accumulation of garbage in Muara Angke was not a new problem. The location is the end point of the river flow so that the garbage that is carried by the current often settles in coastal areas. According to him, this condition is difficult to avoid because Muara Angke is the estuary for a number of rivers that cross Jakarta.

"Muara Angke is indeed the place where the ends of the existing rivers are, there are 13 rivers, one of which then flows into Muara Angke. Once they come out, they have been experiencing sedimentation there. And this has been going on for a long time," he said.

Therefore, Pramono has ordered the DKI Jakarta Environment Service and related parties to carry out regular cleaning so that the waste pile does not grow again as it did some time ago.

"So, no, it's not like yesterday's accumulation, because the main problem is that it can't be avoided, it will definitely be a pile of garbage there," he said.

On the other hand, Pramono assessed that the presence of piles of garbage in the estuary area has both positive and negative impacts. On the one hand, the garbage that settles in Muara Angke is not carried to the Thousand Islands area. But on the other hand, this condition can cause environmental problems if it is not immediately handled.

"The advantage is that the garbage is then not pushed up to Thousand Islands, that is the advantage. The disadvantage is that if it is not routinely cleaned, it will become like yesterday, like a garbage island," said Pramono.

During the cleaning process, the DKI Provincial Government deployed 100 field officers, two amphibious excavators, and three garbage carrying boats. After the cleaning is complete, the DKI DLH will conduct regular supervision and inspection to prevent the accumulation of garbage again.

One of the obstacles in handling waste in coastal areas is the shipment of waste from upstream areas that are carried by water flow to the estuary. Therefore, waste control is also carried out from the upstream area through the operation of barriers and waste filters so that it does not continue to flow into coastal areas.

In addition to cleaning, the DKI Provincial Government also strengthens waste management from upstream to downstream to reduce the volume of waste that enters the water body.