Banjarmasin, S Kalimatan (ANTARA) - The City Government of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, worked hard to clean up large amount of trash mixed with branches and trunks brought in from upstream in Martapura River, Monday.
Banjarmasin Mayor H Muhammad Yamin HR who inspected the operation from the riverbank at the Gampa River Recycling Center (PDU), North Banjarmasin, said due to strong river flow caused by high rainfall upstream, the city's downstream area are experiencing large influx of waste.
If not curbed, he said, the large amount of trash has the potential to hit bridges dan damage houses along the riverbanks, and exacerbate flooding when water levels rise.
The city government has built a floating waste catcher stretches along the Martapura River approximately 60 meters.
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This structure serves to catch large amount of waste before it enters the city.
"This isn't just about cleaning up braches and logs. It's a warning that our river is not in good condition. If upstream area don't take responsibility, dowonstream areas like Banjarmasin will suffer the risk," said the Mayor.
Thus, the presence of the floating trash catchers us currently a vital bulkwark for the city.
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He said that relying on infrastructure in downstream area is not enough.
He believes that managing the Martapura River requires cross-area collaboration, considering the river flows through several regencies (districts) before flowing intoBanjarmasin City.
"The Martapura River flows across regions, thus its management must also be cross-governmental. We need to work together so that the river cleanup is not merely downstream but also upstream,” he said.
