Rawa Rengas River that passes RW 07 and 08, Ujung Menteng Urban Village, Cakung Sub-District, East Jakarta, is normalized by Jakarta Public Works Department. The normalization is conducted because the river narrows drastically from initially 12 meters to only 1-2 meters now.

The land that we controlled belongs to the government. It is planted with many banana trees and paddy plants. So, we’re only giving compensation for the paddy plants

Head of Jakarta Public Works Department Water Resources Maintenance Division, Joko Susetyo, said that the normalization work has been started since Friday (7/4), and the river will be widened to 12 meters with depth around three meters.

To smooth the work, a land as long as one kilometer on both sides of the river is controlled. Moreover, there are also buildings to be controlled soon, namely 33 illegal buildings, 27 buildings in RW 07, and six buildings in RW 08.

“The land that we controlled belongs to the government. It is planted with many banana trees and paddy plants. So, we’re only giving compensation for the paddy plants. As for the buildings, we’ll control them after Eid ul Fitr,” he stated, Sunday (7/6).

According to Susetyo, Rawa Rengas River normalization aims to overcome flood that often inundated settlements in RW 07 and 08 Ujung Menteng as well as Metropolitan Land elite residence which is a part of RW 07. Besides normalizing the river, his department will also demolish corridor road beside East Flood Canal (KBT).

The road is demolished because under it there are sewers that connect Rawa Rengas River with KBT. Each sewer has a width of 1.5x2 meters, so it will be widened to 12 meters, in accordance to the river’s wide. Those sewers will also be replaced with permanent bridge, so it will be sturdier when passed by large vehicles.

This normalization work uses self-management fund. Jakarta Public Works Department only pays for the operators who operate heavy vehicles that belong to the department.