Nature gets back

88 years ago, India changed its capital from Calcutta to New Delhi. And going back into history, Daulatabad, known Devagiri, was a Tughlaq capital in 1327 but lack of water forced them to shift the capital to Delhi.

And looks like history does repeat itself. Not in India but in Indonesia. The rising Java sea  and ground water depletion is sinking Jakarta, forcing the Govt to shift the capital to a rainforest area, Borneo, close to the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda. It is an island in the middle of a jungle and the capital is going to be built from scratch.

The cost to move the capital? About 486 $34 billion. Some 19% of that money will come from the government and the rest will come from private investors. Building a capital is no small feat, it includes constructing new ministry buildings, housing for workers, as well as a new official presidential residence. Construction could begin as early as 2021 and be completed by 2024.

The sinking is partly due to the fact that Jakarta is built on swampy ground, but also because of its proximity to the sea, which makes the city a prime spot for flooding. Pollution too has made the city for the 10 million population unlivable.

The magnitude of global warming and pollution is huge; we are just seeing a fraction of the impending disaster ahead.