I think everyone must save water. Whatever our activity is, save water
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan drew the serious attention of the residents of the capital city to conserve water, as most parts of Indonesia are currently reeling under the impact of a severe dry spell.

"I think everyone must save water. Regardless of whatever activity we do, save water," Baswedan remarked here on Thursday.

The governor also called to reuse or recycle water. "Use waterways to recycle water, so it can be reused," he stated.

The Jakarta administration has drafted a Governor Instruction on Water Management during Drought that was completed on August 6, 2019, and will be announced shortly.

"When the governor’s instruction is ready, I will announce precautionary measures to be taken by the Jakarta administration to best handle the prolonged drought in Jakarta," the governor revealed.

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Station of South Tangerang has issued a warning that Banten and Jakarta are experiencing a dry season that is drier than usual, so the residents of the two provinces are urged to remain vigilant of the water crisis.

An El Nino-induced severe dry spell has cast a pall over 100 districts and cities in Indonesia’s provinces of Aceh, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara.

Rainfall has continued to elude most parts of Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara for nearly 60 days. A total of 102,746 hectares (ha) of agricultural area have borne the brunt of the extreme dry season, while 9,358 ha have been ruined.

The National Meteorological, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast extreme dry season until September, with the condition likely to peak in August.

According to the government’s projection, the current drought, which is drier than that of last year, will spread to 28 out of the country’s 34 provinces, thereby impacting 48,491,666 people and leaving 11,774,437 ha of areas deprived of moisture.

A state of emergency over drought has been declared in some 55 district and municipal administrations in the seven provinces in their regions.

The authorities have constructed artesian wells in several areas and supplied over seven million liters of clean water, out of the 15 million liters to be distributed.

Translator: Ricky Prayoga, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019