Administration sets up task force in city clean-up

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is intensifying its routine public order operations in connection with the national discipline campaign and the city's 468th anniversary.

To support the operation, it has formed a special task force of 330 officials from various relevant agencies, including the city public order office, the city police and the social service office.

"In this year's anniversary celebrations, we want to see the beloved city clean and orderly," Toha Reno, head of the city administration's public order department, told reporters yesterday.

He said the main goal of the operation is to restore the function of public facilities in the city of 10 million people, such as bus shelters and sidewalks that have been occupied by street vendors.

Toha conceded that the number of personnel involved in the operation is not enough because the activities also include information campaigns on public order regulations.

"The team members are often overwhelmed because when they are cracking down on illegal vendors in a certain place, vendors in other areas swarm the street," he said.

The operation is conducted twice a day, from 6 a.m to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Deputy Governor for Government Affairs Idroes has identified public facilities in 31 places across the city as having been misused, mostly by roadside vendors.

Reno said violators of public order regulations are either verbally reprimanded or tried on the spot.

During last month's operation the team apprehended 328 street vendors. Most of them were required by judges to pay fines that ranged from Rp 4,000 (US$1.3) to Rp 30,000.

The operation also detained 2,214 people crossing the street in prohibited places, especially in main roads such as Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman.

Not enough

"They were verbally reprimanded or made to do push-ups on the spot," Reno said. He acknowledged that the pedestrian bridges are not enough in number, tempting people to cross the street in prohibited places.

Reno said the city administration should take action to overcome this problem so people will use pedestrian bridges to cross streets.

The operation in May also rounded up about 1,350 people, including 783 street vendors, 69 three-in-one jockeys, 45 prostitutes and 16 transvestites from the city streets.

"We send these people to social rehabilitation centers in Kedoya, Cipayung and Pondok Bambu, or send them back to their hometowns," Reno said, adding that the rehabilitation program includes training certain skills.

The team has also seized 671 street vendor carts, 13 pedicabs and 2,004 illegal billboards. (yns)