Activists protest bridge relocation

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