Denpasar \u2014 The Commander of Military Region IX\/Udayana, Major General\nPiek Budyakto, has set a target to clear the long queues at Gilimanuk\nPort by 18 March 2026, one day before Nyepi (Balinese New Year).<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully by today and tomorrow and the day after, all the queues\ncan be cleared. As the Regional Police Chief mentioned, by 18 March\nthose leaving Bali during the holiday exodus should be completely done,\u201d\nhe said in Denpasar on Monday.<\/p>\n
Major General Piek explained during a Coordination Meeting on\nHandling Social Conflicts with the Governor of Bali and the Bali\nRegional Police that he had personally surveyed the exodus route to\nGilimanuk Port on Sunday (15 March).<\/p>\n
He acknowledged potential traffic density risks but clarified that\nthe problem is long queues for ferries rather than gridlock as reported\non various social media platforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not gridlock, it\u2019s a queue. Gridlock and a queue are different\nthings. With gridlock, vehicles ahead don\u2019t move, but here vehicles are\nmoving\u2014there\u2019s just a long queue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Commander noted that conditions at Gilimanuk Port have been\ngradually improving. On Saturday (14 March), the queue lasted 15 hours,\nwhile the following day it was reduced to 10 hours.<\/p>\n
The military region has implemented various measures in collaboration\nwith Bali police for traffic management, including using their base as a\nrest area for holiday travellers waiting in the queue.<\/p>\n
Major General Piek is confident the queue will continue to diminish\nand be completely cleared by the evening of Pengerupukan (the night\nbefore Nyepi).<\/p>\n
The same commitment was made by Bali Regional Police Chief Inspector\nGeneral Daniel Adityajaya. After reports emerged of a 37-kilometre\nexodus queue in Bali, his team immediately held discussions to determine\nmeasures to complete the clearance by 18 March.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also discussed why reports emerged on social media about a\n37-kilometre total gridlock in Bali. There\u2019s some truth to it, but not\nentirely accurate. So these past few days we\u2019ve been determining how to\nprocess people leaving Bali,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Nyepi purposes, Bali police are concerned not only with outbound\nqueues but also incoming traffic.<\/p>\n
Although fewer people travel into Bali compared to those leaving,\nBali police have decided to restrict vehicles entering at Gilimanuk Port\nahead of Nyepi.<\/p>\n
Daniel explained this approach considers the situation during the\nogoh-ogoh parades (Pengerupukan) across Bali, which could cause\ncongestion.<\/p>\n
\u201cVehicles entering Bali ahead of Nyepi will definitely be delayed and\nmay be stranded on the road. The journey from Gilimanuk to Denpasar,\nnormally four to five hours, could take ten to eleven hours. We\u2019re\nconcerned that when it reaches 06.00 in the morning (Nyepi time),\nthey\u2019ll still be on the road, so this requires mitigation,\u201d he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/military-commander-targets-completion-of-gilimanuk-port-queue-before-nyepi-1773679916", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }