Free Report: Floods in Jakartaby Deanna Peramesty Wijaya | 17-03-2021 05:15 |
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Amidst the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, faces yet another issue threatening the lives of hundreds of people. Jakarta has always been known for their annual floods. Every year during the rainfall season, citizens of Jakarta has to suffer from this disaster, forced to leave their home in order to seek refuge in another area. Many results come from this issue. Some people lose their property, some others lose their life. Adults cannot go to work, while kids cannot go to school due to having their books and stationeries damaged by the water. This flood disaster seem to be a never ending issue of the citizens of Jakarta. Though, the data from Provincial Government of Jakarta shown that this year's flood has shown decline in terms of the affected victims and areas. This could be a sign that progresses have been made since last year. However, noting the long history of floods in Jakarta and its impact on the citizen, many people are still worried that the situation will worsen and are convinced that there are much more progresses that could have been done to alleviate the issues relating to this disaster. Cited from BBC Indonesia, the current Governor of Jakarta has actually made a several programs to alleviate floods, one of them being the river naturalization program which will be done by planting trees on the river bank to liven up the surrounding ecosystem. There is also a plan to dredge the river soil to create bigger water capacity. Yet, despite the laudable vision, these plans do not seem to solve the root causes of the occurrence of flood in this city. The role of government is crucial and pivotal in the attempt of mitigating the occurrence of floods. Government has the responsibility as well as the right to urge, condemn, and give punitive measures if it is needed to its people. In short, the success in completely preventing, eradicating, and supervising the occurrence as well as the impact of floods is in the hand of its government because they act as the catalyst. Though, the government also cannot act alone. It is very easy to blame the other party and completely neglects the fact that the citizens of Jakarta are also the parties involved in this matter. The reoccurrence of floods heavily relies on the actions and awareness of the citizen. Hence, the participation of non-governmental actors, especially the local citizen, is fundamental to support in alleviating the issue. To conclude, resolving the issue of annual floods in Jakarta requires support and collaboration between different stakeholders. The process will take a very long time, thus taking immediate action to mitigate as well as preventing future cases is a must. With that being said, I hope for the betterment of Jakarta's flood situation in the near future. |
