Ciputat market area sinks into chronic disorder

Ciputat market area sinks into chronic disorder

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Chaotic, dirty, and depressing were the exact words used by Syarief, 47, a resident of Kedaung Housing Complex to describe the disorganized situation in Ciputat market, Tangerang, Banten province.

Mountainous piles of garbage along its roadsides, undisciplined drivers of public transportation and ojek (motorcycle taxi), as well as street vendors, had contributed to the daily chaos and traffic congestion around the market.

As the Ciputat market is located on a strategic intersection and surrounded by at least 15 housing complexes, tens of thousands of people have to pass by it every day, worsening the traffic congestion on adjacent roads.

"I've been living in Kedaung near Ciputat for the last 20 years. Every day I have to pass the market on the way to my office in TVRI, Senayan. There's a traffic jam during rush hours every day," Syarief, 47, who lives in Kedaung, one of the housing complexes in the area, told The Jakarta Post recently.

The disorder surrounding the market has been a problem since 1982. In 1997, the government tried to solve the problem by building a new market building to accommodate the vendors and widen its adjacent roads. But it failed and the disorderly situation has persisted to this day.

Several times, including the one about two weeks ago, the local administration tried to put it in order but then in a matter of days it returned into a disorder condition again.

Three roads surrounding the market, Jl. Dewi Sartika, Jl. Aria Putra and Jl. H. Usman, are mostly occupied by street vendors selling miscellaneous merchandise, ranging from fruit and vegetables to stationery and bicycle spare parts.

As a result, the three-lane Jl. Dewi Sartika has now been reduced to just one lane, far too narrow to accommodate public transportation and other vehicles.

Meanwhile the two-lane Jl. Aria Putra and Jl. H. Usman have both been narrowed into a single lane, just wide enough for a car to pass through.

Not only motorists, but pedestrians as well have experienced difficulties when trying to use the roads adjacent to the market.

Several street vendors told the Post that the police, along with local officials and hoodlums, had given them permission to occupy the roadsides around the market.

They said they had to sell their merchandise on the roadsides as it was the only way to attract customers.

A vendor named Udin, 37, said that he used to rent a stall deep inside the market, but it was not strategic or profitable. "Very few buyers came to my place," he said. "We couldn't afford such a situation for long."

He and other sellers then decided to leave their stalls and move to the roadside.

Udin said that traders had paid the police, subdistrict officials and local hoodlums to allow them to operate there.

"Every day I have to pay Rp 1,000 to both the police and the Ciputat district administration and Rp 500 to the hoodlums. I did not receive any receipt from them as I realized that it was illegal," said Udin, 37, a fruit seller who had been operating on the street for three years.

Kosasih, 53, the deputy chairman of the market's security guards, admitted the illegal levies were imposed, saying that they were an essential supplement to their small monthly salaries.

"We usually take money from them, but we do not force them. We leave the amount up to them. Our monthly income only comes from legal levies imposed on all owners of the market's kiosks. The levies range from Rp 500 to Rp 4000 each, depending on their size and location," he said.

Kosasih's monthly salary is Rp 410,000 (US$41), while low- ranking field officers receive just Rp 285,000. They also have to pay for their own uniforms and equipment, which cost about Rp 400,000.

Kosasih, who has seven children, added that the local administration had never paid any attention to them or made any effort to improve their welfare. "How can we support our families?" he asked.