A breath of fresh air in polluted Jakarta

It was an extraordinary Sunday morning.

Usually busy Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta were crowded -- not with cars chugging out hazardous fumes into the thin air, but with Jakartans who showed up with their children, strolling along the street and playing games.

The capital's concrete jungle, where green areas are a rarity, was suddenly revitalized last Sunday.

Cars were banned from entering thoroughfares from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. in observance of the second annual Car Free Day, which was also to mark the World Car Free Day that fell on Monday.

Hopefully, the joint event -- organized by several non- governmental organizations as part of the Clean Emissions Partner Forum, the Jakarta administration and the Office of the State Minister of the Environment -- might help us breathe, however briefly, a breath of clean air once again.

-- Text and photos by R. Berto Wedhatama