The Jakarta Post | Mon, 03/02/2009 11:55 AM
Two residents row a wooden boat to transport their rice crops in flooded Tiyak village, Kanor district, Bojonegoro regency. At least 49 villages in 11 districts in the regency were inundated over the past three days due to the overflowing Bengawan Solo River. JP/ID Nugroho
The Jakarta Post, Fri, 01/16/2009 4:41 PM
JAKARTA: Nine reporters from Anteve and vivanews.com almost drowned after being swept away by the river while reporting on flooding in the Ciliwung River in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta.
"Our boat capsized and became stuck under the Bukit Duri bridge after bumping into a house on the riverbank," Barkah, one of the survivors, said Wednesday.
The water level on the Ciliwung River was almost to the base of the bridge, knocking the boat around and causing minor injuries to the nine. After their narrow escape, all were brought to the Bukit Duri Police station.JP
Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - Flash floods have inundated thousands of houses in 19 sub districts in North Aceh District, Aceh Province, since Friday, following incessant rains over the past few days.
The flood waters in a number of residential areas in North Aceh reached heights of up to one meter, Bukhari, an official of the Aceh provincial social affairs office, said here on Saturday.
The worst affected areas were Matangkuli and Langkahan where a number of residents were forced to evacuate themselves to safer places reas and schools were closed, he said.
Three bridges in Bukit Linteung, Langkahan sub district, were destroyed by the floods, and tens of inhabitants of Pateng Siribee were forced to flee their homes in boats.
Several villages in Aceh`s eastern coastal areas were also flooded such as Bireuen District, Lhokseumawe, East Aceh and Kuala Simpang.
Floods have affected East Aceh since last Wednesday (Dec. 5) evening.
Flood waters up to one meter high submerged houses in Pantee Bidari, Simpang Jernih, Ranto Peureulak, Julok, Nurussalam, Idi Tunmong, Banda Alam, Darul Aman, Peudawa, Peureulak Barat, Peureulak Timur and Sungai Raya.
JAMBI (The Jakarta Post), Jambi province: A fuel shortage has affected Jambi city, the capital of Jambi province, for the past four days, resulting in long lines at the city's gas stations.
The shortage has seen the retail price of gasoline soar from Rp 4,500 (50 US cents) per liter to Rp 6,000.
"The fuel shortage is the result of a 50 percent cut in fuel supplies to all gas stations in the city," Kadir, the manager of the Kebunjeruk gas station, said Wednesday.
He said his station, which normally receives a supply of 40 tons of gas per day, is now only getting 20 tons.
The gas sells out within hours, he said.
Head of the Kasang fuel depot owned by state oil company Pertamina, Adnan Zhodhy, said there had been delivery delays from the depot to gas stations in Jambi because of the low water level of the Batanghari River.
Boats used to transport the fuel are unable to berth near the depot, he said.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite a few flaws, public reaction to the city's new water taxis has been enthusiastic, with the administration announcing plans to extend their operating hours.
"The number of passengers on the water taxis in the first two days of their operation, Saturday and Sunday, reached 930 people," agency head Nurrachman told reporters at City Hall on Monday.
He added that the agency was planning to add two more hours for the operation of the two water taxis, up from the current four hours. The taxis, launched last Wednesday by Governor Sutiyoso, currently run from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m on Saturday and Sunday.
The water taxis ply a 1.7-kilometer route from Halimun, South Jakarta, to Karet, Central Jakarta, along the Ciliwung River."To anticipate the high demand of passengers, we will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., maybe starting next week," he said.
He said most passengers took a round trip on the water taxis that cost them Rp 3,000 (US33 cents) per person.
"That means most of them rode the taxis for fun," he said.
He said that there were still several problems in the operation of the taxis, such as the garbage floating in the river and the changes made to the river's depth by opening and closing the sluice gates.
He added that the agency was also planning to change the boats currently used as water taxis because the boats currently in use were formerly used to transport people from Jakarta Bay to Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands), and were not specifically designer for rivers.
The boats, Kerapu III and Kerapu VI, have a maximum capacity of 28 people each.
The city administration launched water taxis to introduce a new mode of transportation to help alleviate Jakarta's traffic congestion.
It also hopes to teach resident not to throw garbage in the river because it can hamper the operation of the taxis.
Nurrachman said that the transportation agency and the public works agency were evaluating the possibility of making another water taxi route along the Angke River.
"There is a possibility to open a route along Angke River, at least from Pesing, West Jakarta to Teluk Gong, North Jakarta," he said.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta administration has continued to shrug off criticism of its water taxi project, saying it is confident about launching the project in the near future despite incomplete infrastructure and rivers full of debris.
Governor Sutiyoso said recently the city administration still wanted to launch the service soon, regardless of its problems, in order to promote the use of rivers for transportation.
"It's not just a matter of (raising awareness for) commercial purposes," he said.
"We also want people to begin a new habit of not throwing garbage in the river because it could interfere with the water taxis."
The water taxi launch was initially slated for the end of this month. The planned service will ply a 4.2-kilometer route from Karet in Central Jakarta to Manggarai in South Jakarta.
The city administration has already provided two speedboats, named Kerapu III and Kerapu VI, for the route. The boats previously serviced routes in Kepulauan Seribu regency, better known as the Thousand Islands.
The administration has also built water taxi stops in Karet Belakang, Halimun and Dukuh Atas.
Khairul, the captain of one of the vessels, said that the biggest problem for him was garbage along the river.
He said that several kinds of garbage, such as thick plastic and fabric, got stuck in boat's motor.
"Unlike with passengers on a bus, where they can easily move to another bus if it breaks down, I still have no idea how to manage it if that happens to a water taxi," he said.
Khairul added that there was no alternative but for the city administration to improve the condition of the Ciliwung River to allow water taxis to operate smoothly.
Jakarta Transportation Agency head Nurrachman said he had coordinated with other agencies to clean up the water taxi route.
"It's a matter of people's awareness because they're always throwing their household garbage in the river. So people have to play an important role in the program," he said.
The water taxi service is part of the city's integrated Mass Rapid Transport project, which also involves the busway, subway and monorail projects.
The busway was launched two years ago. It now comprises seven corridors linking a number of areas of the city.
The two most ambitious projects, the subway and monorail system, are estimated to cost the city a combined total of US$1,450 billion.
