President Observes Revitalization of Budengan Dam in Ngawi

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) observed the revitalization process for the Budengan Dam in the Karangjati district of Ngawi, East Java, on Saturday.

"The revitalization process will be completed soon. Hopefully, the dam can be used by farmers soon," President Widodo said on Saturday.

On the occasion, President Widodo distributed hand tractors and water pumps to representatives of farmers in East Java in the Geneng District of Ngawi.

The revitalization of the dam was carried out by residents and the local military. The Budengan Dam is used by the local residents, mainly farmers.

During the revitalization process, the residents and the military dredged the dam to a depth of 2 meters, length of 157 meters, and a width of 10 meters. In addition, they also installed the talut, which is 157 meters long and 7 meters high.

The sludge and soil collected from the dredging is estimated to be about 7,000 cubic meters in volume. The Budengan dam has been built to irrigate 15 villages.

The Head of the Ngawi Sub-District, Budi Sulistyono, welcomed the assistance in agricultural equipment and irrigation in the region. So far, the local government has only been allocated a small budget to repair the irrigation infrastructure.

"The improvement of 16 dams and reservoirs will add water to 13,000 hectares of farmland in Ngawi," he stated.

President Widodo also made a working visit to a number of places in Central and East Java on January 31 and was accompanied by First Lady Iriana.

These activities were aimed at accelerating the food self-sufficiency programs for the next three years.

The event was attended by the Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman, East Java Governor Soekarwo, East Java Police Chief, Commander Brawijaya, and Ngawi administration officials. (WDY)