VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 22 - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is targeting to complete the construction of Manikin/Tefmo Dam located in Kuaklalo Village, Taebenu Sub-district, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, by the end of 2022.

Manikin Dam is the fifth out of the seven dams planned to be built in NTT Province, according to PUPR spokesman Endra S. Atmawidjaja.

"NTT is a water-scarce area. Hence, we need several dams as water reservoirs to meet the various requirements throughout the season," Atmawidjaja noted in a written statement here on Monday.

Of the seven dams, the construction of two dams has been completed, and President Joko Widodo had inaugurated them. The work on Raknamo Dam in Kupang District was completed in 2018, while the Rotiklot Dam in Belu District was constructed in 2019.

The Napun Gete Dam, located in Sikka District, will be inaugurated in the near future.

"Meanwhile, Temef Dam in South Central Timor District (TTS) and Manikin/Tefmo Dam are still under construction,” Atmawidjaja remarked.

Manikin River is expected to be the main water source for the Manikin/Tefmo Dam, with a capacity of 28.20 million cubic meters and normal inundation area covering 148.7 hectares.

This dam is planned to cater to the irrigation needs of 310 hectares of agricultural land in Kupang and can be utilized as a source of raw water to supply 700 liters per second to Kupang City and Kupang District, for the generation of 0.125 MW of electricity for the Microhydro Power Plant (PLTMH), and flood control at 531.70 cubic meters per second.

Moreover, the Manikin/Tefmo Dam is designed to function as a flood control and a tourism site owing to its scenic landscape, with a typical local architecture of NTT.

"This dam will also have a morning-glory spillway found only at Jatiluhur Dam in Indonesia," he revealed. (Antaranews)

Feb. 22 - Personnel of the Indonesia-PNG Border Security Task Force worked with residents of Yetti Village, Arso Timur Sub-district, Keerom District, Papua, to dismantle building materials from an old chapel for reuse in building a new church.

Working alongside villagers to dismantle the old Mahanaim Chapel was part of the task force's community services to assist army personnel to get closer to the village residents, the task force's commanding officer, First Lieutenant Bagus Dwi Hartanto, stated here on Monday.

"We dismantle the building materials of the old Mahanaim Chapel. Several items, including tin roof, door and window jambs, wood foundation, and window glasses, are still in good condition, so they can be reused for building the new Mahanaim Chapel," he remarked.

The task force's personnel involved in the community service belong to Company C of the Army Strategic Reserves Command's (Kostrad's) Infantry Battalion/413 Mechanic Raider, Hartanto noted.

The task force's commander, Major Anggun Wuriyanto, praised the soldiers' community service while reminding them of the importance of staying safe and strictly adhering to health protocols to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.

"May all soldiers remain safe," he stated in a radio communication with Hartanto.

Meanwhile, Priest Yanes, representing members of the Mahanaim Chapel congregation, expressed gratitude to the army personnel for their community service that would expedite the construction of the new Mahanaim Church.

"We dismantle the old chapel to reuse its usable building materials for our new church building. We are optimistic that its construction process would be accelerated to facilitate devout members of the congregation in their worship," he affirmed.

ANTARA noted that Indonesian soldiers, stationed in Papua and West Papua, had demonstrated their care for local communities.

Last month, several soldiers from the 11/MA Combat Engineering Detachment (Denzipur) had offered assistance to construct the Asy-Syifa Islamic Boarding School in Sidomulyo Village, Semangga Sub-district, Merauke District, Papua Province.

The army personnel's community service reflected the Indonesian Military's (TNI's) care for improving the quality of education for children in Papua, according to Asy-Syifa Islamic Boarding School Principal K.POH Ach Sholeh.

Sholeh thanked the combat engineering detachment's personnel that had partaken in the efforts to build the Islamic boarding school that was developed from a Quran recitation learning center.

The TNI is expected to continue to uphold its unity with the local tribal, community, and religious leaders, he stated.

In demonstrating their care for the development of human resources in Papua and West Papua, several soldiers, especially those stationed near the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border areas, are also assigned to become voluntary teachers at schools.

To this end, several members of the Indonesia-PNG Border Security Task Force in Merauke District, Papua Province, have adeptly shouldered this responsibility.

They have extended voluntary assistance to teachers at 12 elementary schools in the sub-districts of Sota, Neukenjerai, Eligobel, and Ulilin in Merauke District since July 2019.

They teach reading, writing, and mathematics to students, Commander of the task force at the Army Strategic Reserves Command's (Kostrad's) MR 411/PDW Infantry Battalion Major Rizky Aditya noted in a statement last year. (Antaranews)

Feb. 22 - President Joko Widodo stressed that the law enforcement apparatus should handle forest arsonists without compromise.

"I call for the application of law enforcement measures without compromise. The National Police chief knows what to do. We have done it before," the head of state noted while giving instructions to participants of the 2021 National Coordination Meeting for Forest and Land Fire Control at the State Palace here on Monday.

The head of state emphasized that anyone, who sets fire to forests, will face legal repercussions, with strict sanctions slapped by the civil and criminal administration.

"Do not let it bring shame upon us at ASEAN meetings. I order this. We are ashamed, as (they might) think we cannot solve this problem," the president stressed.

Widodo also spoke of adhering to his policy to replace regional military and police commanders if they fail to prevent or put out forest fires in their regions.

In the past, Indonesia was frequently hit by forest fires, whose haze spread to neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore. (Antaranews)

Feb. 22 - The Indonesia-PNG Border Security Task Force's 312/Kala Hitam Infantry Battalion personnel, along with villagers, repaired a rotting wooden bridge in Towe Hitam Village, Towe Sub-district, Keerom District, Papua Province, last week.

Situated near the land border of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG), the villagers' daily activities depend exceedingly on the bridge, the task force's commander, Lt Col Dedy Ariyanto, noted in a statement received by ANTARA here, Monday.

The decay in the wood of the bridge was on account of aging, according to Ariyanto.

"We always hear the villagers complaining about the bridge's condition while crossing it. Hence, we discussed with several villagers on how we could together repair it," he revealed.

Repairing the wooden bridge is part of the security border task force's community services to ensure safety during the mobility of local residents and goods in the village, he emphasized.

Before working with the Towe Hitam villagers, several members of the border security task force and Keerom police precinct, along with locals, had also repaired a damaged bridge in Arsotami Village.

Local residents had assisted the soldiers and policemen with the repair work, as the bridge was vital for the mobility of people and goods near the Indonesia-PNG land border.

ANTARA reported details on the Indonesia-PNG Border Security Task Force assisting locals in Papua Province through community services, such as voluntary teaching, serving mobile library, and street cleanup programs.

The task force recently initiated a street cleanup program in Mosso Village in Muara Tami Sub-district, Jayapura City. Along with Mosso villagers, several members of the task force cleared out dirt and debris from the village's streets.

The soldiers that partook in the community service were part of the Army Strategic Reserves Command's (Kostrad's) Raider 413 Mechanic Infantry Battalion, the task force's commander, Major Anggun Wuriyanto, stated.

The residents were enthusiastic to partake in the street cleanup program, he remarked.

"We are optimistic that the street cleaning activity would become a routine program to keep Mosso Village clean and healthy," he affirmed.

Wuriyanto then urged the village's youth to lead efforts to keep their village clean, healthy, and secure. (Antaranews)