Bandung: The City of Garbage??

Bandung, the capital of West Java, Indonesia is the city where I have lived for most of my childhood. I remembered once that it had been a beautiful city, with not many rubbish lying around and not much smoke polluting the air. It was a city that used to be called "Kota Kembang", which means the city of flowers.

But now, Bandung is no longer as beautiful as it once was. It has an enviromental problem that has really gotten out of hand. Garbage is everywhere, trees are getting more less and less by the day to give room for more large buildings, every day the traffic jams are getting longer, and pollution, especially from land transportation and the stench of rubbish, are making the air even harder to breathe. Bandung even received the 2006 award for the dirtiest city in Indonesia, and instead of the city of flowers, Bandung now became the city of garbage.

There are many factors which may have caused Bandung's enviromental problem. One of the main factors is the fact that many of the citizens of Bandung has a habit in throwing rubbish anywhere they please, which gives reason to the garbage problem. Another factor is the many people of Bandung, whom even if they only have to go about 100 metres, uses a car or a motorbike when they could easily walk. The factors above are only a small portion of the many that made Bandung achieve the 'award' in the year 2006.

But despite it's enviromental problem, Bandung still has many good qualities which attract the tourists, which is why in the weekend Bandung becomes twice as packed as normal. Yet, if the government and the citizens of Bandung doesn't cooperate to make this once-beautiful-city a better place, starting with it's natural enviroment, Bandung will become a city that will no longer be fit to live in.

Good thanks for posting.