Too Much Development Caused Flood at Situ Gintung
Monday, 30 March, 2009 | 14:18 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Director General of Water Resources of Public Works Department, Iwan Nursyirwan Diar, has denied the accusation that the disaster at the Situ Gintung reservoir in Ciputat, Tangerang, was caused by the Department for ignoring reservoir maintenance.

He insisted that it was because of the overwhelmed water debit.

The reservoir that was built during the Dutch government broke last Friday causing a flash flood that resulted in many deaths.

“We carried out inspections on a regular basis,” said Iwan yesterday (29/3).

He mentioned that there were no leaks found during the examination in December last year.

Iwan blamed the land around the reservoir being changed into housing areas.

“It should be full with grass not houses,” he said, adding that the Public Works Department cannot do a lot about this as law enforcement was not in the hands of the Department.

Due to the broken reservoir, hundreds of houses are gone and many people have died.

To date, 102 people are still missing.

Six bodies were found yesterday so the number of people who died is now 97.

Member of the commission V at the House of Representatives, Nusyirwan Soejono, said that the Public Works Department should be responsible for the disaster as its maintenance is under the central government.

“The maintenance of reservoirs like Situ Gintung has never been a priority for the central government,” he said.

However, another member of this commission, Malkan Amin, said this was is not mainly the responsibility of the Public Works Department.

“The House of Representatives also should be responsible as the house determines the budget for reservoir maintenance,” he said.

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