Indonesia 'wiped out' the dirtiest river in the world

The lead content in the Citarum River is 1,000 times higher than the US drinking water safety standard, but 30 million people still rely on it for irrigation, washing and drinking.

Garbage is dumped into the Citarum River on February 5 - (Photo: AFP).

The Indonesian government is aiming to rehabilitate the seriously polluted Citarum River by 2025.

AFP news agency reported that on March 2, Citarum was "conferred" the title of the world's most polluted river by the World Bank, with a lead level of 1,000 times higher than the safety standards for drinking water.

Currently, about 30 million people are using this polluted water for irrigation, washing and even drinking.

The Citarum River began to pollute since the 1980s when it built an industrial park in Majalaya, 170km east of Jakarta, causing 280 tons of industrial waste to be discharged into the river every day, along with waste. people's activities.

Since January this year, Jakarta has announced it will strictly handle, even revoke the license to operate companies that violate the regulations on waste treatment. In addition, the government will also install cameras along the river to control littering, and at the same time deploy dredging to clean the riverbed.