Majalaya seeks new home for factories

Written by Meenaa on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Textile manufacturers in Majalaya, West Java, have asked the provincial administration to consider allowing it to relocate as annual flooding has repeatedly disrupted production.

Chairman of the Majalaya Textile Manufacturers Association, Deden Suwega, said the yearly flooding not only affects the textile manufacturers but also thousands of residents.

“Currently, there are 10 textile factories submerged by up to one meter by flood waters, as they are located along the banks of the Citarum river,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

“But there are many other factories that have to shut down operations as workers cannot reach them because the roads too are flooded.”

It is estimated that at least 20 percent of the 250 textile factories in Majalaya have ceased operations for more than a week.

“This year’s flood is already worse than last year and this is only the start of the rainy season.

“Usually floods will get worse at the end of the rainy season. How can we survive under these conditions?” Deden said.

He did not elaborate on where he though the textile factories should be relocated to.

He said if relocation was too expensive, then the Citarum river should be widened and dredged.

“The stretch of the Citarum river that passes through Majalaya is now less than three meters wide. It can no longer absorb rain water from up stream, as there are no longer big trees along the banks,” he said.

The frustrated Deden said the annual flooding caused billions of rupiah in losses.

Deden also said that environmental damaged on Mt. Wayang, the source of the Citarum river, was getting worse, with virtually no forest left covering the mountain.

This means that more mud sedimentation is carried away by the river, causing millions of cubic meters of mud to silt up the river.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Majalaya flood handling committee, Satya Natapura, said he would meet Dede Yusuf, Govenor of West Java, to discuss the annual flooding on Wednesday.

Satya said in the past five years the flood has taken longer to recede, even by centimeters, even though Majalaya was located on high ground.

Majalaya, with a population of some 300,000 people, is located just south of West Java’s provincial capital Bandung.

“In the past, it took only two to three hours for the flood to totally dissipate. Now, it stays for more than four hours,” he said.

“Another problem with the floods in Majalaya is that it leaves plenty of mud, forcing residents to work hard cleaning up afterwards,” he said.

Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Wed, 11/19/2008 11:01 AM | The Archipelago