6 Slum Areas Collised In Indonesia's Youngest Province, Short-Term Intervention Limited To Sanitation Improvements

The Ataqwa area, Sorong City, which is now entering the Southwest Papua Province, was affected by flooding on Saturday, July 18, 2020. (ANTARA-Ernes K)

A total of six slum areas are found in Indonesia's youngest province, namely Southwest Papua (PBD). A number of short-term interventions were carried out to alleviate the problem.

The number of six is based on the results of the visit of the Acting Governor of PBD, Muhammad Musa'ad to Sorong City recently.

Following up, the PBD Provincial Government held a meeting to draw up strategic steps related to the plan to organize six slum areas in Sorong City. "So we agreed to provide intervention in short-term measures that were considered urgent, such as the provision of clean water and MCK (bathing, washing, toilets) for sanitation," said Head of the PBD Provincial Government Development Planning, Research and Innovation Agency, Rahman, after a meeting at the PBD Governor's Building in Sorong, Thursday, May 25, was confiscated by Antara. Details of the six slum areas; four on Jalan Viktori, one at the end of Deo Sorong Airport, and another in the 8 kilometer area of Sorong City.

Regarding the provision of clean water, Rahman said that Balai Sungai provides well drilling at two points, Cipta Karya provides and builds a water pipeline network to meet the needs of the community in slum locations. "In addition, because BPN (National Land Agency) also said that the land has not been certified, we immediately completed it starting from the release of customs until the certificate is issued," he said. The party agreed to go down to the location on May 29, 2023 to capture aspirations related to basic needs that needed attention as quickly as possible. "So we agreed to come down together from the province and OPD (Regional Apparatus Organization) from the city of the Sorong City Government to get urgent needs that need handling as quickly as possible," said Rahman.

He mentioned that in housing 30 in Klawalu Village, East Sorong District, there are 51 heads of families. "We will try to provide needs starting with improvements to houses, clean water, toilets and other necessities so that people in that location can be comfortable and healthy," he said. Government intervention in the short term, said Rahman, is more about fulfilling urgent needs. "That is in this first stage we do then in the long term about how to provide the feasibility of adequate, healthy and decent housing," he said. He explained that this step is part of the government's efforts to provide a decent life for the community, especially the slum areas are right in Sorong City, which is the capital city of PBD Province.