Manggarai sluice gate on alert for flooding

The Jakarta Post, Thu, 04/09/2009 12:25 PM

JAKARTA: The South Jakarta Manggarai sluice gate was on level III alert, the third highest alert level, on Wednesday, as the water level in the Ciliwung river rose due to spillover from upstream Bogor, West Java.

"The Manggarai waterway water level is currently 825 centimeters," Manggarai sluice gate officer Ibnu told Antara news agency.

The water level was 810 centimeters at 8 a.m., 60 centimeters above the normal limits, he said.

Separately, officials at the Katulampa sluice gate in Bogor said the water level was 60 centimeters, 20 centimeters below the alert threshold, at the dam, which is a vital barrier to flooding in Jakarta.

It generally takes between 10 and 11 hours for water from Katulampa to reach the Manggarai sluice gate, the main barometer for flooding in Jakarta. -JP

On the banks of Ciliwung

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 04/08/2009 6:51 PM

Ghetto living: Two boys are seen sitting on a rooftop in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, on Wednesday as their house goes under water due to the annual flooding of Ciliwung river. Heavy rains and also water flowing from Bogor have in recent days inundate several parts of the city (JP/P.J. Leo)

Pipe leakage affects water distribution in Central, North Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/08/2009 5:10 PM

A 900 milimeter in diameter leakage to a primary water pipe in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, has affected 40 percent of the water distribution in Central and North Jakarta, kompas.com reported.

Further, flooding over the water pump panel of the Cilandak water management instillation (IPA) has also caused similar disturbance to hundreds of houses in South Jakarta.

City water operator Palyja president director Philippe Folliasson told kompas.com on Wednesday that the leakage has significantly affected its services, as 40 percent of Palyja's service area suffer water supply disturbances.

The affected areas include Ancol, Angke, Bendungan Hilir, Cideng, Duri Pulo, Duri Selatan, Duri Utara, Gambir, Glodok, Grogol, Jembatan Besi, Jati Pulo, Jembatan Lima, Kali Anyar, Kampung Bali, Karang Anyar, Karet, Karet Kuningan, Karet Tengsin, Kartini, Keagungan, Kebon Kacang, Kebon Melati, Kebon Kelapa, Kerendang, Kotabambu, Krukut, Mangga Besar, Mangga Dua Selatan, Maphar, Pasar Baru, Pejagalan, Pekojan, Penjaringan, Petamburan, Petojo Pinangsia, Pluit, Roamalaka, Setiabudi, Slipi, Tamansari, Tambora, Tanah Sereal, Tangki, dan Tomang.

According to reports by kompas.com the Jati Pinggir leakage was caused by the installation of a supporting pillar used in the extension of the West flood canal (KBB) Monday evening.

Similarly on Tuesday evening, the water pump panel at IPA Cilandak went under the water, causing water distribution problem in the following areas: Jati Padang, Pasar Minggu, Pejaten, Kalibata, Cilandak, Cipete, Gandaria, Pondokpinang, Kebayoran Lama, Bintaro, Pesanggrahan, Ulujami, Cipulir, Sukabumi Selatan, Grogol Selatan, Pulo, Gunung, Gelong, Melawai, Kramatpela, Rawabarat, Petogogan, Mampang Prapatan, Tegal Parang, Duren Tiga, Pancoran, Pengadegan, Rawajati, Cikoko, Tebet, Kebonbaru, Manggarai, Bukitduri dan Pela Mampang.

Folliasson said Palyja has dispatched a special team to alleviate the problem in Jatipinggir since Tuesday evening.

"Since last night our team continues to work hard to fix the damaged primary pipe," he said, adding that the pipe should be fixed by this evening. (amr)

Poor Drainage System in Jakarta

Wednesday, 08 April, 2009 | 14:39 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Flooding and pools of water were to be found in several places in Jakarta after heavy rains on Monday (6/4).

According to Yayat Supriatna, an expert on urban affairs from Trisakti University, the capital city’s bad drainage system was the cause.

He said the circulating system for drainage in Jakarta is unclear.

“It is not connected between micro and macro drainage channels,” Yayat told Tempo yesterday.

In addition, only 30 percent of the drainage capacity currently functions well.

Therefore, rains of medium intensity can create flooding or pools of water.

Yayat said that the government and the general public have failed in managing and maintaining the drainage system.

The flooding does not only occur in main streets but also in housing areas.

One of the housing areas that is often hit by flooding is Petogogon District in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

Water to this district comes not only from the overflowing Krukut river but also from the bad drainage system.

Residents whose houses are only with one storey high have to leave their houses.

Garbage is also to be found in the drains, which are often silted up.

Tarjuki, head of Water Resources Maintenance at the Jakarta Public Works Regional Office, said that drains in Jakarta could not accommodate water during heavy rains.

He explained that the drains with widths of 60 centimeters to 1 meter could only accommodate rain with an intensity of 10 millimeters per hour while the rain intensity last Monday reached 20 millimeters per hour.

Deputy of Commission B for Economy division, Ben Sitompul, said that the drainage system in Jakarta needs to be evaluated.

“Even higher places can be hit by flooding,” said Ben yesterday.

AMIRULLAH| EKA UTAMI APRILIA

Related Article:

Jakarta Predicted to be Underwater By 2012

Time to roll up sleeves

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 04/06/2009 11:55 AM

Workers assisted by military personnel build temporary homes for the Situ Gintung dam burst victims, in Tangerang, Banten, on Saturday. The Banten administration said it would build temporary homes for 400 residents whose homes were decimated by the calamity two weeks ago. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

Gintung lake damage report filed by subdistrict in 2007

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 04/05/2009 9:47 PM

Nearly two weeks after the Situ Gintung dam burst – killing nearly 100 residents - Cireundeu subdistrict head Chairul Sadudin revealed Sunday he had notified the flood management office near the lake of the damage to the Situ Gintung spillways in February 2007.

“We wrote a statement to the office. Lake water was overflowing the spillways every time it rained heavily, which became a concern for local residents,” Chairul said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

In the report, he added, the subdistrict administration also called on the relevant agencies to clean up the area around the lake and fortify the lake walls.

Related Article:

Mayor to pay temporary housing rent for Situ Gintung survivors

Saving Batavia: A Vision of Jakarta's Past and Future

See Also:

• Saving Batavia Homepage
• The Origins: A City Built on Blood and Spice
• The Obstacles: Old Batavia is Wrapped in Red Tape
• The Solution: The Latest Master Plan

If you leave aside South Jakarta’s business corridor, the high-priced restaurants and the city’s many shopping malls, what are you going to do in a metropolis desperately short of public spaces?

Where in Jakarta can you escape the pollution, traffic and pressure for a stroll through shaded streets, a coffee at a sidewalk cafe, a visit to an art gallery and a chance to enjoy the architectural treasures of a forgotten time?

Nowhere, is the obvious answer.

At least not yet. But if the decaying treasures of old Batavia, the neighborhood now known as Kota Tua, or Old Town, could be salvaged from more than a half-century of neglect, a gem would be revealed that could become an oasis of calm for city residents and a money-spinning tourist attraction for visitors to Jakarta, most of whom just hurry through their hours here, anxious to change planes for Bali.

For now, of course, apart from the partially restored splendor of Taman Fatahillah and the old Dutch city hall,

Kota Tua is largely a mess. Historic structures are falling down, trees grow through collapsed roofs. There are seedy nightspots, traffic chaos and little in the way of economic vitality.

We see it differently. Kota Tua is a treasure, one of the largest stands of original colonial-era architecture in Asia. Refurbished, rezoned and allowed to flourish in a public-private partnership — the outlines of which are in a master plan being considered by the Jakarta governor’s office — Kota Tua could, and we think should, take its place alongside the other architectural marvels of Asia.

That the 17th century Dutch had the power and the temerity to think they could recreate their vision of Europe in a tropical outpost rife with disease may be looked upon now as imperial madness.

However, the fact that much of this early history remains standing, having evaded destruction through war or a developer’s bulldozer, is a reality that the current generation, separated from the bitterness of the colonial legacy, can now reclaim.

As this special report shows, Kota Tua is integral to Jakarta’s history, and can be a big part of Jakarta’s future.

In its rush over five decades to expand and modernize, Jakarta has largely forgotten its past. Kota Tua is in trouble. The exquisite historic buildings around Taman Fatahillah are crumbling. The grand old boulevard along the Kali Besar canal reeks of stagnant water. The small shop-houses, some providing refuge for squatters, might as well be occupied by ghosts, given how eerie they look after sundown. Similar treasures in Chinatown and the old Arab district bear the scars of neglect. The whole place could fade to little more than a memory.

But given aggressive leadership and a vision of creative change, a city desperate for beauty and calm amid the urban sprawl could benefit immensely from a revitalized and reborn Kota Tua.

We offer this selection of articles as a starting point for debate, a celebration of the past and a reminder of the treasure in our midst. Let’s not let it fade to dust.

Anti-Buddha Bar Forum gives 14 days for govt to revoke license

The Jakarta Post, Fri, 04/03/2009 3:32 AM | National

Members of the Anti Buddha Bar Forum (FABB) have on Thursday pledged to stage a public protest if the Buddha Bar brand license is not recalled within the allotted 14-day period, tempointeraktif.com reported.

"The whole Indonesian Buddhist community will take this matter to the streets," FABB coordinator Ponijan Liaw said.

According to Directorate official Andi Someng, the Buddha Bar brand license was registered at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights Protection (Ditjen HAKI) of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry in January this year.

He said such licenses can be revoked anytime.

"Any brand license [previously approved] is revokable," Someng said, adding that the Directorate would summon the City Administration and bar owner so as to settle the controversy within the next two weeks.

"We will work within 14 days in accordance with what was decided in the meeting, hopefully this will be swiftly resolved," he said.

Meanwhile FABB lawyer Sunarjo Sumargono said Ditjen HAKI had previously admitted negligence in issuing the bar's brand license.

He argued that under the 1883 Paris Convention on industrial wealth, no brand can contain religious attributes or other elements that may disturb society.

"Indonesia, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), should therefore adhere to the Convention," Sumargono said.

Abbot Virya Dharma, secretary general of the Sangha Mahayana Indonesia, further argued that religion is not tradable nor be made into a business entity.

"This too runs counter to the 1945 Constitution in which Buddhism is also officially awknowledge as among the recognized state religions," Dharma said. (amr)

City aims to build 5m biopores this year

Triwik Kurniasari, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Wed, 04/01/2009 11:37 AM

The city administration has set a target of creating 5 million biopores this year in five municipalities across the city in an effort to improve water retention and therefore ease the ongoing water crisis.

The City Environmental Board (BPLHD) said that the city only had 335,590 biopores, far below the recommended 76 million.

BPLHD head Peni Susanti said that the board would require developers to build the biopores in a bid to meet the target.

“The bylaw rules that every building, including malls and hotels, must have absorption wells or biopores,” Peni said, referring to the 2005 bylaw on groundwater.

She said her office was cooperating with the City Building Supervision Agency (P2B) to ensure that developers applying for building permits abide by the regulations.

“We also encourage Jakarta residents to make biopores at their homes,” Peni said.

She said that the biopores could help retain rainwater longer in the soil and therefore maintain the equilibrium of the groundwater table.

The biopore technology was introduced by a lecturer at the Bogor Agriculture Institute (IPB), Kamir Raziudin Brata, in 1976. Biopores are made with a T-shaped iron bore to create a 1-meter-deep hole in the ground with a diameter of between 10 and 30 centimeters. The hole, also containing organic waste, absorbs more rainwater and therefore allows insects and worms to live. Firdaus Ali, an environmental expert at the University of Indonesia, said biopores were not the only way to solve the city’s problem.

“Jakarta is experiencing a serious water crisis due to the massive exploitation of groundwater. Therefore, I fully support the administration’s plan to raise the ground water tax,” Firdaus said. Earlier in March, the administration announced that it would draft a bylaw to increase ground water tax in a bid to prevent exploitation and land subsidence.

The BPLHD reported that groundwater exploitation had caused land to sink about 1.2 meters. The construction of high-rise buildings also speeds up land subsidence.

The tax in wealthy residential areas will increase from Rp 525 per cubic meter to Rp 3,300, and from Rp 8,800 to Rp 23,000 in industrial areas.

“The administration can use the money to develop more sophisticated technology for water absorption... It should also impose stricter sanctions on violators,” Firdaus said.

Besides biopores, the administration has been working with the IPB in developing bio-retention technology. This method uses the chemical, biological and physical properties of plants, microbes and soils, to slow rainwater runoff and retain water.

In addition, the BPLHD reported that as of December 2008, the administration had built more than 83,000 absorption wells capable of retaining 1,154,000 cubic meters of water.

City seals off apartment over lack of permits

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 04/01/2009 2:56 PM

JAKARTA: The South Jakarta Building Supervision Office (P2B) sealed off the Kalibata Residence project on Tuesday, citing the developer's failure to get a building permit prior to the construction of the apartment tower.

South Jakarta P2B head Widyo Dwiono said his office had issued a warrant forcing the developer to stop construction work and immediately arrange for the permit.

"We've reprimanded the developer since December last year. They lack various prerequisites, including a land title deed, building permit for an aero-safe zone, a permit from city spatial office, and an environmental impact study," Widyo said as quoted by detik.com.

The site of the seven-storey apartment is 5 kilometers from Halim Perdanakusumah Airport.

The developer, PT Pradani Sukses Abadi, claimed it was resolving the building permit issue and asked buyers not to worry.

The company's deputy general manager of sales, Fransiskus Afong, said his company would complete the requirements for the building permit ahead of the schedule.

"We're still processing the permit," he said as quoted by tempo-interaktif.com. - JP