Indonesian Army Chief of Staff (Kasad) General Maruli Simanjuntak confirmed that post-disaster recovery efforts in a number of areas affected by the Sumatran disaster will continue to be accelerated ahead of Ramadan.
According to him, the current focus of recovery is on building temporary housing (huntara), repairing connecting infrastructure, and meeting the basic needs of affected communities.
"I also think we will continue to accelerate. Yes, I'm confident. We can do our best to complete the temporary housing. If I happen to be focusing on the bridge, I think we can complete the main one," said Maruli after attending the TNI/Polri Leadership Meeting (Rapim) at the Presidential Palace .
Maruli stated that the target is to maximize the construction of temporary shelters so that people can immediately have decent temporary housing.
Besides housing, infrastructure recovery is a top priority, especially bridges affected by the disaster.
In the past month and a half, the government has built and repaired dozens of emergency bridges.
"So in this month and a half, almost 40 bailey (bridges) , 50 armco (bridges) , 19 suspension bridges," he said.
Maruli further stated that post-disaster recovery also includes meeting the clean water needs of affected residents. The government has deployed various supporting facilities, including water tankers from several ministries and agencies.
Maruli said the education sector in the affected areas is gradually recovering. Several schools have resumed teaching and learning activities.
