Obeying The Ministry Of Home Affairs, BPBD Prioritizes Gabions Instead Of Physically Building When The River Bank Collapses

A number of workers assembling stones to make gabions. (ANTARA-Ragil D)

JAKARTA - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Bantul Regency has prepared gabions or woven steel wire as a binder for piles of stones for handling taluts when buildings on the banks of the river collapse.

The Head of BPBD Bantul, Agus Yuli Herwanto, said that starting in 2022, BPBDs will not be able to carry out physical development activities, for example, when there is a collapse of the bridge or emergency conditions due to weather.

"Starting from 2022, we will not be able to hold physical activities, due to the Ministry of Home Affairs Decree No. 050-5889 of 2021, but BPBD can anticipate when there is an emergency by providing gabions," he said in Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) , Friday June 17th.

Therefore, he said, the community or related parties could apply to the BPBD for temporary handling when they needed gabions, as well as other necessary logistical needs.

"We provide tarpaulins, provide sacks and provide food for community service, we are ready," he said.

He also said that for houses damaged by natural disasters, BPBD also provided building materials, with the affected people submitting proposals first.

"We provide wood, cement, zinc or building materials as long as it's not a shop, not a warehouse, we'll prepare that, with a proposal as long as supplies last, that's what BPBD can afford," he said.

Furthermore, he said that during this wet dry season, his party urges the public not to throw garbage in the wrong place, because it will clog the channel, let alone throw garbage in the river, because it can cause flooding.

"Because the rivers in Bantul are downstream, which accommodate various kinds of materials that already exist from the north, so if we don't just throw garbage in the river, it's prone to flooding, especially if we participate in throwing garbage in the river," he said.