All quiet in Jakarta on Christmas Day<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In hectic Jakarta, a city that never sleeps,
\nChristians peacefully attended church services on Christmas Eve
\nand celebrated Christmas yesterday.<\/p>\n
Tranquility ruled and masses went well-attended throughout
\nthe sprawling metropolitan. No serious jams were seen, except at
\nchurches where thousands gathered, and police recorded no fatal
\ntraffic accidents.<\/p>\n
At the Jakarta Cathedral, located in Banteng Square, about a
\nthousand gathered to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at their
\nevening mass. The cathedral, which is the largest church in the
\ncity, was surrounded by hundreds of cars crammed into makeshift
\nparking spaces.<\/p>\n
Traffic was not as ugly on Saturday. In South Jakarta,
\nearlier in the day main roads such as Jl. Panglima Polim, Jl.
\nR.S. Fatmawati, Jl. Ciputat Raya, Jl. Lebak Bulus, were almost
\ndeserted.<\/p>\n
Some hospitals officials here said their burdens had been
\nreduced and that their emergency units were not so busy.<\/p>\n
"Our emergency unit is almost vacant and we've had only one
\npatient, who suffered a heart attack," nurse Carmeni of
\nPersahabatan Hospital, East Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Renta Pasaribu, the admission official of the
\nIndonesian Christian University (UKI) hospital in East Jakarta,
\nsaid that there were nine patients who were treated there for
\nvarious troubles but that none needed serious treatment.<\/p>\n
"Among them, one person fell from a speeding bus. But he is
\nall right," Pasaribu said.<\/p>\n
The emergency unit at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General
\nHospital in Central Jakarta had received seven traffic accident
\nvictims as of Saturday midnight.<\/p>\n
"But none of them are in serious condition," said Muja
\nFahrudin, one of the hospital's admission officials.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Rusmana, the day-to-day chief of the National
\nSearch and Rescue (SAR) Agency, told the Post that there have not
\nbeen any calls for help since Saturday.<\/p>\n
"And I hope everything will stay that way," Rusmana said.<\/p>\n
He also said that Transportation Minister Haryanto
\nDhanutirto, who was accompanied by Director General of Land
\nTransportation Soejono, was flying with an SAR helicopter to
\nsupervise the transportation situation in the city over the
\nweekend.<\/p>\n
Though the hospitals, SAR officials and motorists could
\nenjoy the Christmas holidays in peace, the South and East Jakarta
\nfire brigades had to work hard yesterday.<\/p>\n
Fire<\/p>\n
A furniture studio, a house in East Jakarta and another
\nhouse in the south were razed by fire on that day.<\/p>\n
Supandi, a member fire brigade of South Jakarta, said that
\nfire damaged the roof of a house on Jl. Bangka, South Jakarta,
\nat 01.00 p.m. yesterday.<\/p>\n
"I believe the fire was caused by a short circuit. There
\nwere no casualties and financial losses were only estimated at Rp
\n5 million (US$2,280)," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Sumarso from the East Jakarta Fire Department said
\nthere were two fires in his area. The first one occurred at 02:00
\np. m. on Jl. Cijantung II and the second one, which took place
\nabout 35 minutes later, razed the furniture studio on Jl.
\nPahlawan Revolusi.<\/p>\n
Sumarso could not give more details about the second fire
\nsince fire fighters were still working hard when he spoke to the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Police officers from all sectors of the city also said that
\nall was quiet on all fronts yesterday. "Thank God there was
\nnothing serious today," said Second Lt. Saminto of North Jakarta
\nPolice Office. Similar statements were repeated by police
\nofficers from Central, South East and West Jakarta. (mas)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/all-quiet-in-jakarta-on-christmas-day-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}