East Jakarta Mayor, Muhammad Anwar, instructed the ranks of the Water Resources Sub-agency (SDA) to build a drainage tank at the inlet of the Pekayon Reservoir, Pasar Rebo, to anticipate the entry of waste carried from residential channels.

It aims to accommodate more water

According to him, the drainage tank should have been built from the start so that the waste could be filtered and not go directly into the embung (artificial lake).

"As I said, when building an embung, the flow of water from residents should be stopped first, there should be a drainage tank. If it's done straight away like this, it's impossible, how can a reservoir be used as a place to store waste?," he asserted, when he inspected the embung condition, Sunday (9/1).

He explained it was carried out for water control in Pekayon in a bid to prevent flooding during the rainy season. Hopefully, its construction could be completed quickly and on time.

"It aims to accommodate more water, prevent flooding, and as a tourist destination, a place for interaction and tourism for residents and economic movement," he explained.

He hoped that residents would help maintain the comfort and cleanliness of the reservoir by not bringing in vehicles and littering in the reservoir area.

East Jakarta Development Section Head, Tengku Saugi Dzikri explained the embung area reached 1.7 hectares, divided into a wet cross-section area of ​​one hectare and 0.7 hectares for the jogging track area.

"This work has been ongoing since March 28 and is targeted for completion on October 23. The progress has reached 96 percent," he explained.

Regarding waste entering the embung area, his party had installed a filter at the inlet of the embung. However, the residents released it, the reason being that when it rains heavily, the residents' residentials are flooded because the water flow is blocked by waste that accumulates in the filter.

"We also instruct the urban village and sub-district heads, as well as community leaders to educate their residents not to litter. Because if it has entered the water channel, it will be carried away by the current and enter the reservoir area," he closed.