Bongkaran red-light area cleaned up<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A team led by Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur
\nAbdullah has cleared the Bongkaran red-light area in Tanah Abang
\nof hookers, gamblers, food vendors and owners of dim-light
\nkiosks.<\/p>\n
The sudden operation on Wednesday, one day before the
\nbeginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, went smoothly
\nbut sparked strong objections from the sex workers, vendors and
\nkiosk owners of Bongkaran, a vast area owned by state railway
\ncompany PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).<\/p>\n
\"This mayoralty forbids prostitution. I will not legalize
\nthis. I want them (the prostitutes) to leave the profession
\nalthough this is a hard task for us and will take time,\" Andi
\ntold a media briefing after leading an inspection in the Tanah
\nAbang and Senen subdistricts.<\/p>\n
The move by the mayoralty team was also designed to create
\norder in the district, in line with the city's policy during the
\nmonth of Ramadhan, as its office has imposed a curfew on night
\nspots and togel gambling dens.<\/p>\n
Located near the busy Tanah Abang bus terminal, railway
\nstation and textile market center, the site -- originally
\ndesigned for the loading and unloading of goods from and to
\ntrucks -- has been known for decades as a popular place for cheap
\nprostitutes.<\/p>\n
Along with the business of the prostitutes, gamblers and
\nstreet vendors rushed to the site looking for customers.<\/p>\n
The illicit businesses of sex transactions and gambling dens
\nin Bongkaran have continued to operate well without serious
\nefforts by the local authorities to close them forever.<\/p>\n
Public order officials, for example, once burned all the huts,
\nused either as gambling dens or modest brothels, but a few days
\nlater the people built new huts and slowly ran their businesses
\nagain.<\/p>\n
During Wednesday's raid, some 200 prostitutes and
\napproximately 35 owners of food stalls and kiosks in Bongkaran
\nwere badly disappointed after hearing that the mayoralty
\nseriously intended to put an end to their businesses, and not
\nonly during the fasting month.<\/p>\n
\"I sell gado-gado (traditional salad with peanut sauce) here
\nand I'm not breaking any law. The mayor should have given us
\nother job alternatives and places to go,\" one of the residents
\ntold a journalist who covered the team's assignment.<\/p>\n
In response, Andi explained that the mayoralty's move was not
\nmerely to clear the slum area, which is situated next to the
\nBanjir Kanal river.<\/p>\n
\"If PT KAI lets the mayoralty to manage the area, we'll build
\na semi-permanent meeting hall for the local residents or a school
\nfor the kids,\" the mayor said.<\/p>\n
He pledged that the mayoralty would conduct an open dialogue
\nwith the Bongkaran residents and prostitutes in the next few
\ndays.<\/p>\n
\"We will give them (the sex workers) options, but we will not
\nallow them to go back to the area.\" Andi said, adding that his
\noffice would offer the prostitutes a short term course or further
\neducation.<\/p>\n
During the team's visit to the Senen markets, Mayor Andi was
\nsurprised to find that several street vendors had been levied up
\nto Rp 300,000 (US$45) per month by hoodlums in the markets.<\/p>\n
\"They have been charged for security by the jeger (local word
\nfor hoodlums) because they sell outside the market's boundaries,
\nwhereas in fact there are still empty clusters inside the market
\narea, which are cheaper,\" Andi said.<\/p>\n
The team also found an operator of togel gambling at the Senen
\nmarket building who still runs the business although a notice
\nfrom the market's operator was issued a year ago informing
\noperators to temporarily stop the business on Wednesday and
\nThursday, the beginning of the Ramadhan month.<\/p>\n
\"The notice indicates that the market's management are aware
\nof this illegal practice but have not done anything about it,\"
\nAndi said, \"I'll teach them a lesson.\"<\/p>\n
He added that the team would carry out the inspection every
\ntwo days during the fasting month to monitor the operation of the
\nillegal businesses -- such as street vendors, togel, becak
\n(pedicab) and prostitution -- in four subdistricts, including the
\nMonas and Pasar Baru areas. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bongkaran-red-light-area-cleaned-up-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}