The Jakarta trash task force personnel are being deployed in shifts 24 hours a day to monitor the condition of such rivers as Ciliwung, Pesanggrahan Angke, and Kali Sunter, which flow through the capital city, acting head of Jakarta's Environment Office, Syaripudin, said.
The task force members include personnel from the Jakarta Water Department and the Environment Office, he told local journalists here on Tuesday.
They are being kept on standby to monitor the condition of the targeted rivers, which are prone to choking up with mountains of waste carried by the currents from other areas during flooding, he informed.
The task force has been provided 44 vehicles for waste collection, 50 garbage trucks, 32 excavators, 23 mobilization officers, and 12 mechanical engineering staffers to carry out their task, Syaripudin said.
“If needed, as the governor has instructed, fleets from other places which provide routine services can be mobilized to assist disaster mitigation efforts in affected areas. Our target is how to work promptly,” he stated.
The Jakarta Environment Office has formulated standard operating procedures for handling trash during the rainy season, based on the outcomes of monitoring of Katulampa dam's water level, tidal flooding, and high intensity of rainfall, he informed.
"We will ensure that the trash-handling system works effectively," he said.
Floods have posed a serious challenge to Jakarta governors and their administrations over the past few decades.
On October 5, 2020, for instance, more than 1,200 residents of East Jakarta's Kebon Pala area were affected by flooding after the Ciliwung River overflowed following torrential rains in Bogor, West Java.
In early 2020, flash floods triggered by high-intensity rainfall over several days had swamped several parts of 17 sub-districts of Jakarta as well as many other sub-districts in its metropolitan areas, including Bekasi and Bogor.
At least 46 people lost their lives in the floods, which also compelled 173,064 people residing in the Greater Jakarta areas to shift to safer ground, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
The Jakarta provincial government has continued to strive to deal with flooding-related problems.
Head of the Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda), Nasrudin Djoko Surjono, has earlier revealed that Jakarta's flood mitigation funds for 2021 would touch Rp4 trillion.
The provincial government is focusing its flood mitigation efforts in nine areas, including constructing vertical drainages, revitalizing the Ciliwung River in Pasar Baru area, as well as flood analysis and supporting information system, he added. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Ricky P, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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