JAKARTA: Some 5,000 people have been put on alert, to ensure that main rivers are clear of rubbish as part of efforts by the Jakarta provincial administration to prevent floods during the rainy season.
The river trash task force deployed include those from the Water Department and the Environment Office, who will be on duty round-the-clock as the season persists, according to Antara News.
Jakarta Environment Office acting chief, Syaripudin, said among key areas the trash task force would be monitoring were the Ciliwung, Pesanggrahan Angke and Kali Sunter rivers that flow through the capital city.
In a media briefing here on Tuesday, Syaripudin said the personnel on duty would keep a close watch on targeted rivers that were prone to clogging up with waste carried by currents from other areas and gets flooded.
The task force had been provided 44 vehicles for waste collection, 50 garbage trucks, 32 excavators, 23 mobilisation officers, and 12 mechanical engineering staff to carry out the task, Syaripudin said.
"If needed, as the governor has instructed, fleets from other places which provide routine services can be mobilised to assist disaster mitigation efforts in affected areas.
"Our target is how to work promptly," he said.
Syaripudin revealed that the Jakarta Environment Office had 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 intensity of rainfall.
"We will ensure that the trash-handling system works effectively," he said.
Floods have posed a serious challenge to the capital city administrations over the past few decades.
Head of the Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda), Nasrudin Djoko Surjono, had earlier revealed that Jakarta's flood mitigation funds for 2021 would touch 4 trillion rupiah.
The provincial government was focusing its flood mitigation efforts in nine areas, including constructing vertical drainages, revitalising the Ciliwung River in Pasar Baru area, as well as flood analysis and supporting information system, he added.