A growing number of regions in Indonesia is already experiencing drought, but the dry season is likely to be particularly lengthy this year due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. (Antara Photo/Dedhez Anggara)

Bogor, West Java. Heavy rains and strong winds damaged at least 67 homes in Bogor district or Friday and briefly refilled water reservoirs, as President Joko Widodo convened key ministers to discuss tackling the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which could postpone the arrival of the rainy season until November.

Already, a number regions across the country are experiencing droughts, Kompas.com reported on Friday, such as parts of Java, South Sulawesi, Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. Parts of these regions haven’t seen any rain since May.

Besides dwindling supplies of water — for people as well as crops – prolonged droughts also heighten the risk of wildfires.

The Indonesian dry season usually doesn’t last beyond October.

No casualties were reported in Bogor, but families whose homes were destroyed had to find shelter with relatives or in local government buildings.

Bogor, nicknamed the City of Rain, had experienced a lengthy drought before Friday’s rainstorm.

The city of Bogor in West Java, to the south of Jakarta, had been longing for some rain. (Antara Photo/Arif Firmansyah)

Budi Aksomo, an official with the Bogor Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), said roofs had been blown away, but that the extent of the damage was still being calculated.

The official called on people to remain vigilant, as winds can be particularly strong when it rains hard during the dry season.

Water levels at the Katulampa Dam, on the Ciliwung river, rose dramatically during Friday’s rainstorm, but had dropped by Saturday, on official at the dam confirmed.

In Jakarta on Friday, Joko stressed the need to protect farmers and fishermen from the impacts of El Nino, a phenomenon caused by high sea water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific ocean, which affects air pressure and the weather in various parts of the globe.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofyan Djalil, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Indroyono Soesilo, Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti and Minister for Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Ferry Mursyidan Baldan were present at the meeting with the president.

“We’re looking for solutions, particularly with regard to our vigilance in the face of a number of hotspots that could spark forest fires, which we have to watch out for,” Joko was quoted as saying by Kompas.com. “The most important is how we can safe or farmers and our fishermen.”

The president has already instructed Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman to send water pumps to the hardest-hit areas and in the longer term Joko plans to increase the number of water reservoirs to better prepare the country for dry spells.

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Officers of the Riau Police preparing for an anti-terror drill, last month. (Antara Photo/Aswaddy Hamid)

Bogor. A police bomb squad was called in on Friday to investigate a suspicious-looking device that — after more than four hours — turned out to be an empty bottle of perfume, placed in front of the house of a retired officer in West Java’s Bogor district.

The package was discovered by a child on Thursday night in front of the residence of Gunarjo, a retired senior commissioner, in Ciujung village. The child mentioned the find to his father, who in turn reported it to local authorities.

A suspicious-looking package.

The perfume bottle, apparently of the Madame Shi brand, had the letters TNT written on it, leading concerned residents to suspect it might be an explosive device. There were also several wires protruding from the package and local media reports showed the bottle had also been covered in some dirt.

The bomb squad was able to take the package to the headquarters of the police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit in Depok, south of Jakarta, where it was finally determined its contents were harmless. Residents were left relieved, but also confused, as it had taken officers some four hours before they were able to securely move the object.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Suyudi Ario Seto, the chief of the Bogor District Police, said it was not clear why anybody would leave behind such a suspicious-looking package, but confirmed that nothing dangerous was found at the site.

“There is no security threat, this is just somebody being careless,” Suyudi said.

It is apparently not the first time this particular type of perfume packaging has caused headaches for residents and law enforcement officers, as a similar scenario unfolded in Canada in 2012, according to media reports.

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Bogor. Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto of Bogor has warned civil servants to not let the fasting month affect their performance in the office.

Thursday is the first day of Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month that is widely observed by Indonesian Muslims. The faithful are not allowed to drink, eat, smoke or engage in sexual intercourse from roughly 4.30 a.m. until almost 6 p.m., with exact times depending on sunrise and sunset.

To help them cope, civil servants in Bogor are allowed to work seven instead of eight hours during the fasting month.

“But that means I ask the civil servants in the Bogor administration to not slack off, keep working as usual and provide the best service possible,” Bima said on Thursday.

He said he had particularly high expectations of those directly involved in providing key services, such as health clinics, hospitals and government offices at the neighborhood level.

“Providing services to society is also a form of worship,” the mayor said. “The reduction in work hours can be used to take worship to the next level.”

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Bogor. Almost 80 men considered ‘thugs’ on Sunday were told by Bogor Police to perform pushups and squat jumps as a form of “shock therapy” to reduce street crime in the West Java district.

A total of 79 men were picked up, brought together at a police parking lot in Cibinong and reprimanded by the chief of Bogor Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Suyudi Ario Seto. The bare-chested men were then asked to perform 20 pushups and 20 squat jumps.

Eighteen-year-old Kurniadi, who was among the detained, said he was merely trying to help police by directing traffic at a busy intersection.

“I just wanted to keep traffic flowing and the road free of traffic jams — but then I was arrested,” he said. “And I never ask for money. If I’m given some, sure, I’m grateful, but if not, that’s fine with me.”

Suyudi, the police chief, called on residents to immediately contact the force if they witness such crimes as parking rackets or various other forms of extortion taking place on the streets.

“We will write down [names] and keep an eye on anybody involved in crime,” the officer said. “If they’re caught again, we’ll take legal steps.”

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Jakarta. The administration of Bogor municipality will receive only a tenth of the figure it has proposed for financial aid from Jakarta, following the Home Affairs Ministry’s decision to cut Rp 3.6 trillion ($231 million) from spending plans this year.

Out of the Rp 131 billion in financial assistance that Jakarta had requested to help reduce run-off floods in the capital, only Rp 13 billion was approved, according to Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto.

Deforestation in Bogor, known as the City of Rain and located upstream from Jakarta, has long been blamed for widespread flooding in the capital, especially during the rainy season.

“This year, Jakarta will disburse Rp 13 billion in funds for Bogor. The amount is quite different from our initial proposal,” Bima told reporters in Bogor on Monday.

He added that the Bogor administration would try to cover the resulting shortage with funds meant for a number of other programs. These include the development of a dam, wells and biopore infiltration holes to absorb rainwater and prevent it from flowing into the capital on its way to the sea.

Bogor officials had also planned to develop a “park and ride” concept for public transportation with a portion of the expected Rp 3.6 trillion, Bima said.

The mayor did not elaborate on whether the project would be scrapped or merely postponed.

The reduction in financial aid is due to cuts made in the Jakarta administration’s budget following scrutiny from the Home Affairs Ministry, from Rp 72.9 trillion to Rp 69.3 trillion.

The decision has not only affected Bogor, but Jakarta’s other satellite cities as well, Bima added.

Financial aid for the capital’s suburbs, which include Tangerang, Bekasi and Depok, has been reduced to Rp 399.3 billion in total.

The district of Bogor, which encircles Bogor municipality, will receive Rp 67.4 billion, short of the initially proposed Rp 100.4 billion.

Tangerang will receive Rp 100 billion from the Rp 2.4 trillion its officials requested, while South Tangerang is set to receive Rp 74.8 billion, from the initial figure of Rp 164.8 billion.

The municipality of Bekasi will get Rp 98.1 billion from the proposed Rp 200 billion, and though it requested Rp 100 billion, Bekasi district will receive Rp 18.8 billion.

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Jakarta. Police arrested two men and seized 10,000 bottles of counterfeit alcohol during a raid at a home factory in Bogor on Friday.

Bogor police chief, Adj.Sr.Cmr. Sonny Mulvianto, said Klapanunggal police raided a the premises on Friday and found fake whiskey kept in 500 boxes.

“Police also arrested two suspects identified as A.D. and B.S. Our test found the liquor was counterfeit and it was produced to be distributed in Jakarta and other cities,” Sonny said on Saturday, adding that police believed the men arrested owned the business.

Sonny said police were still investigating whether others were involved in the operation. He said suspects could expect to face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

“From their testimonies they claimed they were just subordinates and someone else is acting as the business owner and distributor,” Sonny said.

Previously on Tuesday, Bogor officials raided a storage room in Kedunghalang and confiscated thousand bottles of illegal alcohol.

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