Land Subsidence Already Reported in Central Jakarta: Jakarta Govt

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of Development Monitoring Affairs of the Jakarta Planning and Development Agency (Bappeda) Afan Adriansyah Idris said land subsidence has now reached the center of Jakarta.

"In Sarinah (department store) (on) Thamrin (street in Central Jakarta), the number of stairs (in the department store) has decreased due to land subsidence,” Afan said.

"This is the result of land subsidence,” Afan said.

Afan added that quite severe land subsidence in Jakarta happened on the west side of Pluit Dam in North Jakarta stretching to Kamal Muara.

"There’s so much extraction of ground water there," he said, adding that land subsidence would bring about extreme results if it were not prevented.

In addition, Afan said, many residents in North Jakarta are also worried about coastal flooding due the rising level of seawater. Therefore, Afan further said that the Jakarta provincial government and residents in North Jakarta must join hands to increase the distribution of clean water in the area.

"Many have already received water from city-owned water operator PD PAM but many still use air ground water because it is cheaper,” Afan said.

BAYU PUTRA