There is plenty to criticize about the Jakarta Government’s handling of the problems plaguing our city. But one area where the government has been doing great work recently is in cleaning up the capital’s rivers. Once fetid floating trash dumps, many of the city’s rivers are now clear of debris and flowing freely.
We’ve shown you photos of the remarkable results of the Sanitation Department’s efforts to clear the trash choked rivers before, but it’s even more impressive when you see before-and-after pics of how bad they were before and how clean they are now. These amazing shots by photographer Wawan Hadi Prabowo were originally published by Kompas and were recently uploaded to on the Jakarta Government’s official Facebook page.
Pintu Air Manggarai
Kali Besar
Waduk Pluit
Kanal Barat
Of course, these rivers were not magically cleaned up on their own. All praise must go to the hardworking “Pasukan Orange” (Orange Troops) of the Jakarta Sanitation Agency, the workers who take on the capital’s dirtiest jobs so that we can all enjoy a cleaner city. According to the government’s data, there are about 4,025 Pasukan Orange workers currently tasked with cleaning up Jakarta’s rivers.
Next time you see one of them, please be sure to tell them how much we appreciate their tireless work.
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