Kampung Apung Residents Lack of Clean Water for 20 Years
Reported by Hendi Kusuma | Translated by Anisah Mardhatilla
Kampung Apung, Kapuk Urban Village, Cengkareng Sub-district, West Jakarta is one of the examples among the slums in the city that has a problem in the lack of water. The region that has gotten predicate as the neatest, cleanest and the most beautiful village in West Jakarta in 1980s its resident is now asking the clean water solution in their region.
I hope the City Government to set up waterway in our region for free since the PAM waterway installation is quite expensive, around Rp 1 million
Kampung Apung RT 10/01 resident, Sri Lestari (43), admitted that in 20 years, she always buys clean water from the water seller to fulfill their household needs since the groundwater quality in her environment has been contaminated by waste and landfill waste. Moreover, the area was the former swamp which then dredged for settlement area.
“We hope the government to consider more about clean water. Many Kampung Apung residents are having difficulty in getting clean water. As a matter of fact, we need to buy every day,” complained Sri, Thursday (6/12).
Kampung Apung Problems Remain UnsolvedBesides that, RT 10/01 area has not owned adequate waste waterway and the waste absorbed directly into the land. “I hope the City Government to set up waterway in our region for free since the PAM waterway installation is quite expensive, around Rp 1 million,” said Sri.
Same with Sri, Nurahman (53), Kampung Apung indigenous, also complained the same thing. He thought that the clean water limitation has happened since 1995. He admitted that the environment around Kampung Apung is damage after the dredging and waste accumulation since 2005 until 2009. Kampung Apung was the final disposal site (TPA) in West Jakarta, but the project was failed.
“This village was TPA, but it was failed. It is now only landfill waste that has blended with soil so that the ground water is very bad,” explained Nurahman.
According to him, the residents have bored with the promises of Jakarta leaders since Surjadi Soedirja Governor until Joko Widodo Governor. “Until now, our region’s suffering has not over yet. We hope whoever leads Jakarta can return the village condition as before,” he said.
