Vendors running rings around Senayan joggers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): For many years, the Senayan sports complex in
\nCentral Jakarta has been a favorite site for Jakarta residents
\nfrom all walks of life and ages to jog and take part in morning
\nexercises, particularly on weekends.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, the morning view at the vast complex has drastically
\nchanged as more and more people come to the site for different
\nreasons.<\/p>\n
No, this story is not about businessman Bayu Maruto, a former
\nmember of the elite presidential guard, who daringly introduced
\nhimself to widow actress Chintami Atmanagara, while jogging at
\nthe Senayan complex sometime in late 1998. The two became
\nofficially engaged few days ago.<\/p>\n
These days, the complex is always swarmed by hundreds of
\nstreet traders selling so many kinds of food, drinks and
\nmerchandise, ranging from shoes, diapers, wristwatches, shirts,
\nused imported garments, toys, kitchen knives and wigs.<\/p>\n
On the other site of the complex, one can see a number people
\nselling various items, such as car accessories and household
\nequipment, from their cars.<\/p>\n
The new trend at the site, according to regular joggers, began
\nwith the onset of the economic crisis which badly hit the country
\nin mid-1997.<\/p>\n
Before, in the 1980s, for example, sports enthusiasts only saw
\na few dozen food vendors, especially those selling chicken
\nporridge.<\/p>\n
But traders are traders. For them, the regular presence of
\nthousands of people at the complex is a big market for their
\nbusinesses.<\/p>\n
And they are not wrong. Joggers, who usually come to the site
\nwith their spouses and children, always purchase the goods on
\ndisplay on mats at the edge of the "jogging track", the street
\nthat encircles the football stadium.<\/p>\n
Others spend their time engaged in a kind of window shopping.<\/p>\n
Ulfi said she and all her family members were happy with the
\ntraders' presence.<\/p>\n
"I can shop for my daily needs, including vegetables, here. I
\nalso don't need to prepare breakfast during weekends as various
\nkinds of foods can be found here," she said.<\/p>\n
"It is more practical, isn't it?" said the employee of a
\ngarment company and mother of two boys.<\/p>\n
But complaints from some other joggers about the crowds of
\ntraders, which have been mushrooming from day to day, are on the
\nrise. They say their presence hinders sports activities.<\/p>\n
"Conditions were better two years ago when the number of
\ntraders was still tolerable, but now -- especially on Sundays --
\nit has turned into a traditional market," complained entrepreneur
\nPrihartomo.<\/p>\n
The traders sometimes take up part of the track, leaving
\nlimited space for the joggers.<\/p>\n
But many regular joggers at Senayan admitted that the Bayu-
\nChintami case is something natural.<\/p>\n
"I come here to take part in sports and perhaps I too will
\nmeet my future wife here," said Brahma, an employee of an
\naccountancy firm in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Brahma, who was there with scores of colleagues, said that one
\nof his relatives met his girlfriend in Senayan, although their
\nrelationship only lasted for six months.<\/p>\n
Rini, a clothing trader at the complex since last year, said
\nshe has witnessed many times how the younger joggers became
\nacquainted with each other during the morning jogging.<\/p>\n
"They mostly make use of the breakfast time," she said. (ind)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vendors-running-rings-around-senayan-joggers-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }