Unseen Bandung: Kampong Party at The Cikapundung River Bank

This is a scene that many visitors to Bandung would not probably see:

Just across the river where I took the fishing photo (see previous post), I saw a small party going on. The party, with dangdut music and dancing, was apparently part of a political campaign held by a candidate of the municipal legislature who sought votes from the slum river bank community in the recently held general elections.

As you can see from the picture, sanitation at densely-populated kampongs along the Cikapundung river is a big environmental issue in Bandung. Open sewer and garbage flow into the river which in turn flows into one of the dirtiest river in the world: The Ciliwung.

Fishing at Cikapundung

Photo caption: a group of men fishing in a makeshift pond set at the bank of the Cikapundung River.

The Cikapundung is the main river that cuts across the city of Bandung from the north to south. It flows and merges with the Citarum, the longest river in West Java, that flows to the Java Sea.

"Kukuyaan" at Cikapundung

If you are not Sundanese, chances are you won't have any idea what 'kukuyaan' means.

'Kukuyaan' is derived from a Sundanese word 'kuya' which means 'turtle'. Hence, 'kukuyaan' means playing turtle. Of course it's not a real turtle that's being played. It's just the name that the Sundanese gives to playing inner tube in the water.



The mass and national record-breaking 'kukuyaan' in these pictures was held last Sunday (19/6/2011) at Cikapundung river as part of the campaign to clean up the river.



Photos were taken by Sudarmanto Edris, a local photographer, and were used with his permission. Thanks Pak Sudarmanto.

Cikapundung River Bank

With a population density of nearly 15,000 people per square kilometer, Bandung is one of the most crowded cities in Indonesia. Nowhere is it more evident than along the Cikapundung, the river that runs across the city from the north - where its spring is - to the south where it meets the Citarum, one of the major rivers on the island of Java and one that this Daily Mail article says could be one of the most polluted river in the world.

The above photo is the crowded kampongs along the Cikapundung at Cihampelas area. As you can see, the river has turned brown, a sign that it is heavily muddy and polluted.

Our grandparents said that just about 50 years ago, this river used to be (was still) clear where people could bathe, play, and fish. Now, there is nothing there but polluted water and rubbish. Population explosion and incompetent and corruptive goverments have contributed much to this environmental disaster.

The distruction of the Cikapundung river valley is one of the major contributors of the floods that the lower southern part of Bandung has to endure annually.

The Cimanuk River

Having its spring in the Papandayan Mountain in Garut and crossing four regencies (Garut, Sumedang, Majalengka, and Indramayu), Sungai Cimanuk (The Cimanuk River) is one of the longest rivers in West Java. I took this scenic section of the river at Wado area in the border of Sumedang and Majalengka about 100 kilometers east of Bandung.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in Scenic Sunday meme. To see other participating blogs, please click the logo picture underneath.