Social Minister Juliari Realizes President's Promise for Bogor Landslide Victims

BOGOR REGENCY (6 July 2020) - Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari P. Batubara, has realized President Joko Widodo's promise to victims of the landslide disaster in Sukajaya District, Bogor Regency. The Minister of Social Affairs visited residents of landslide victims to directly hand over life insurance assistance (Jadup) to 4,188 families or 12,403 people worth 3.72 billion.

"This is a realization to the people in Sukajaya District, especially from the four villages that were affected by the landslide," said the Minister of Social Affairs at the Nyomplong Village Shelter Field, Sukajaya District, Bogor, Monday (6/7).

He said that some time ago, he had accompanied the President to visit the disaster site. “What I remember, a few days after the disaster, I accompanied the President to this location, down there, near the community health center if I'm not mistaken. At that time, we couldn't go up here, we couldn't, everything was still covered by landslides,” recalled the Minister of Social Affairs while pointing to the location of the incident.

In fact, he continued, when the President went to the disaster site, it was also raining at that time, so all parties at the location were horrified too. The President and several Ministers are all here," said a former member of the DPR for two terms recalling the incident at that time.

The handover of the Jadup coincided with the inauguration of 1,753 temporary shelters (huntara) by the Regent of Bogor, Ade Yasin. Also present at the event werethe Director General of Social Protection and Security, Pepen Nazaruddin and the Commander of Korem 061/Surya Kencana, Brigadier General Agus Subiyanto.

On that occasion, the Minister of Social Affairs also expressed his gratitude to the Bogor Regent and Danrem 061 for helping him realize President Joko Widodo's promise.

"Thank you, Mrs. Regent and staff, as well as Mr. Danrem for realizing Mr. President's commitment to the affected residents in this shelter. Hopefully the construction of permanent housing (huntap) can be completed soon so that our brothers and sisters can immediately occupy the shelter, "said the father of two children.

Not only that, the Minister of Social Affairs also reminded the Regent of Bogor to study areas that have a high level of vulnerability to disasters. "I think it is necessary to make an in-depth study for several areas that are prone to landslides," said the Minister of Social Affairs.

He considers that although the practice in the field is not easy, these areas need to be reconsidered for their suitability for habitation.

“If the area is still inhabited, even if the population is large, there will always be natural disasters that claim lives. If only there were no residents inhabiting it, the loss, especially the loss of life, could be minimized," explained the Minister of Social Affairs.

As reported, floods and landslides in Bogor Regency in January 2020 resulted in high-intensity rain in four sub-districts in the Bogor Regency area, namely Nanggung District, Cigudeg District, Sukajaya District and Jasinga District.

The disaster has claimed 16 lives and caused thousands of people to flee from their homes. In response to this, the Ministry of Social Affairs has taken several steps for handling emergencies and distributing social assistance, including the deployment of Tagana personnel to carry out disaster emergency management activities and public kitchen services, to psychosocial support services.

Apart from mobilizing disaster volunteers, Juliari said, the Ministry of Social Affairs has also sent various aids. "We have also sent some logistical assistance, compensation for heirs, as well as basic necessities with a value of around 2.67 billion rupiah," said the Minister of Social Affairs.

So, according to him, if all the assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs, since the disaster until now, the total has reached around 6.4 billion rupiah.

Hunting Condition Check

After handing over the Jadup assistance, the Minister of Social Affairs and his entourage directly inspected the shelters to ensure that the conditions were suitable for occupancy. The Minister of Social Affairs also ensures the source of water which is a basic daily need.

While turning the faucet in the public bathroom, the Minister of Social Affairs stated that the water in the shelters is very abundant. "Wow, this water is abundant! The water is also very clear, I think it is suitable for daily needs," he said praising the availability of water for residents.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Social Protection and Security, Pepen Nazaruddin, said that jadup assistance was distributed through a collaboration between the Ministry of Social Affairs and Bank Mandiri based on a non-cash mechanism.

"The Ministry of Social Affairs distributes Jadup on a non-cash based, they open an account and are given an ATM (card), the goal is that the aid reaches the recipient intact according to their respective rights," explained Pepen

Met separately, one of the recipients of jadup assistance from Nyomplong Village, Sukajaya District, named Agus Maulana immediately disbursed his funds at Mandiri outlets that had been prepared by the bank.

"Alhamdulillah, I received assistance of one million and five hundred from the Minister of Social Affairs. Yes, I will use this assistance for basic needs, as well as school fees for pesantren," said Agus.