Activists protest bridge relocation

TANGERANG: Some 100 activists from Gedung Pemuda (GP 52), a non- governmental organization concerned with public policy reform, staged a rally on Jl. MH. Thamrin here on Friday to protest the construction of an arched pedestrian bridge connecting D'Best Mall on one side of the road and PT Argo Pantes on the other.

GP 52 chairman Fahmi Elyusdi said the municipal administration had earlier planned to construct the crossing near the Serpong tollgate in Kebon Nanas but then decided to locate it right in front of the shopping mall.

"The presence of the pedestrian crossing in Kebon Nanas, which is also the gateway into the municipality from the Jakarta-Merak toll road and Bogor, is needed to cope with traffic congestion there," he said.

He said building of the crossing right in front of the mall was evidence that business interests were more important in the eyes of the administration than the needs of the public.

Responding to the protest, Tangerang Mayor M. Thamrin said: "A landowner in Kebon Nanas where the bridge was to have been built was not willing to sell out. Besides, Kebon Nanas has turned into an illegal bus and minivan terminal," he told the media after meeting with People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, who was on a visit to Tangerang.--JP