"I will visit the upstream section of the Citarum river every three months," Joko Widodo said after inspecting the Citarum River basin area (DAS) here on Thursday.
West Java`s Citarum River supported about 27 million people who use it as a source of water for their food crops and to produce piped water for households in the provincial capital of Bandung as well as the nation`s capital, Jakarta.
"Citarum river supplies water to 27 million people including households in Bandung and Jakarta," the president said.
The president earlier said that the movement for handling pollution and damages at the Citarum River bank would become a pilot project for other rivers, such as the Bengawan Solo and the Brantas.
He noted that the revitalization work of the Citarum river bank started on Feb 1, 2018, in Situ Cisanti area, Tarumajaya Village, Kertasari Sub-district, and Bandung District.
"I think this is a big project, and I remind you that it is impossible to finish it within a couple of days or a couple of years, " he remarked.
The government needs around seven years for revitalizing Citarum river bank. "I have counted from the upstream to the downstream, and it requires seven years for completing the project," he revealed.
"We would start from the upstream in February. I am so grateful that we had planted ecological and economical plants," he added.
The plants are rasamala, puspa, manglod, including resin trees.
(UU.A063/B/KR-BSR/A014)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
