Bogor traders ask to retain their kiosks
Bogor traders ask to retain their kiosks
BOGOR, West Java (JP): Bogor traders whose kiosks in the Pasar
Kebon Kembang market were ravaged by fire last month do not want
a major renovation of their stalls.
The traders said yesterday that total renovation or renewal of
the market building would result in the eviction of old traders.
"We've learned through experience. The market building has
been destroyed by fires before. After the 1987 fire the
administration renovated the building and old traders were not
allowed to get their kiosks back. I myself had to use my
brother's name to apply for a new kiosk," Budi Sihabuddin, a
kiosk owner, said.
New traders with more money might get the kiosks, while the
old traders would be evicted, said Budi.
He said kiosk owners had proposed minor repairs instead. "We
don't want new kiosks, or we will start from zero again when we
have to pay for the new kiosks in monthly installments," Budi
said.
Other traders shared the same opinion, saying that their
kiosks were slightly damaged. "The Ramayana Department Store was
totally destroyed, not our kiosks," a trader, who wanted to
remain anonymous, said.
Usman Zakaria, an assistant to the Bogor mayor, told The
Jakarta Post that a special team under the Directorate General of
Human Settlement at the Ministry of Public Works has been
studying all the technical aspects of the building after the
fire. No decision has yet been made whether the market building
needs total renovation, he said.
Zakaria said the traders' worry was a positive input to the
authorities. "We do not want the 1987 story to be repeated. We
want the old traders to get their kiosks back," he said.
The local administration has built 672 temporary kiosks for
the traders whose kiosks were destroyed.
Bogor Mayor Eddy Gunardi had earlier said a total of 2,766
temporary kiosks would be built.
Each kiosk, made of wooden planks, has a two-meter square
floor.
The building of temporary kiosks has apparently disrupted
local traffic. "We will detour the traffic around the market,"
Zakaria said.
The Pasar Kebon Kembang fire hit the headlines after the mayor
Eddy announced that only 10 people were killed in the fire, while
press reports said that more than 70 people were killed. The
controversy ended when the authorities, including police
officers, forensic experts and pathologists, officially declared
that only 10 people were killed in the fire.
Bogor Police Chief Dadang Garnida told the Post on Wednesday
his office has received no claims from people saying that their
relatives are missing.
Three people will be prosecuted for the negligence which
caused the death of the ten Ramayana Department Store employees.
(21/sur)