Deep Tunnel's Considered Not The Answer

Surabaya (Antara Bali) - Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo's plan to build a deep tunnel will not serve as a solution to the floods that hit the capital city almost every five years, according to an expert.

"The plan to build a deep tunnel to control the floods in Jakarta will be end up as a failed effort if the basic causes of the flooding problem 'sedimentation and littering' are not overcome. The deep tunnel might actually create new problems," said Amien Widodo, the chairman of the Centre for the Study of Terrestrial Disaster and Climate Change at the Surabaya Institute of Technology's Academy of Research and Community Services (LPPM), here on Thursday.

He noted that there were a lot of lessons to be learnt from the recent flooding in Jakarta, but the solutions proposed might not address the main cause of the problem.

The downpours are inevitable during the rainy season. However, among the things that need to be changed are spatial management and people's habit of throwing garbage into the rivers? Amien pointed out.

Some of the main causes of flooding are the changes of land use in the water catchment areas, the emergence of community settlements along the river banks, the bad practice of throwing garbage into the rivers, and rapid population growth," he continued.

"These are the main causes of flooding that need to be tackled before we look for alternative solutions," Amien said. (*/DWA/T007)