Anies Who Was Not Ready To Anticipate Jakarta Floods

The HI roundabout area during the dry season. When it rained last Tuesday, December 17, puddles appeared everywhere (Irfan Meidianto / voi.id)

JAKARTA - The long drought has ended, it was the turn of heavy rain. Heavy rains flushed Jakarta from noon until yesterday causing flooding and standing water in a number of locations.

Based on data from the DKI Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), there were 19 inundation spots that had appeared on various roads in the capital.

The most inundation spots appear in South Jakarta, including Jalan Prof. Dr. Satrio, Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Jalan Gatot Subroto, and Jalan Rasuna Said. The height varies from 10-20 cm to 10-40 cm.

BPBD DKI also noted that standing water had appeared in settlements in West Jakarta, to be precise in Rawa Buaya Village, Sukabumi Selatan Village, and Kota Bambu Utara Village. The water level varies from 20 cm to 100 cm.

In the view of urban observers, Nirwono Joga, DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and the ranks of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government are not ready to anticipate flooding.

The DKI Provincial Government has indeed mentioned that the reason for the flood is due to the heavy rain. However, apart from that, the flood also shows that our Jakarta drainage system is not able to accommodate rainwater overflow optimally.

"This is a local flood caused by the city's poor drainage system. Indeed, only 33 percent (drainage) is currently functioning properly," Nirwono told reporters, Wednesday, December 18.

Nirwono said that there should be several programs carried out by Anies. But unfortunately this is not done seriously.

First, Anies has not facilitated the arrangement of riverbanks for two years. Anies must immediately carry out land acquisition by relocating residential areas. This is so that the widening of the river can be done so that the widening of the river body can be optimal.

"Prioritize the rivers that are most frequently flooded, such as the Pesanggrahan River and Ciliwung River," he said.

Agree, Member of Commission D DPRD DKI Yuke Yurike is not surprised by the Jakarta flood yesterday. Given that, during the last dry season, the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta did not make preventive measures in dealing with floods in the capital.

Yuke also thinks that Anies has not prioritized flood management programs. The river naturalization program has not run for several years, because the Jakarta Provincial Government has not acquired land. In fact, according to him, for infrastructure development in collaboration with the Central Government.

"The governor's priority seems to be only focused on the notification program, so he forgets the most fundamental Jakarta problem, namely flooding," said Yuke.

"The governor does not have a clear roadmap for flood prevention in 2020, but instead focuses on imaging programs that are not beneficial to the wider community," he added.

According to him, today's flood should be an alarm for Anies to immediately move and make preparations to face future floods. Anies cannot always depend on the alertness of the Orange and Blue Troops in the flood prevention efforts.