City streets deserted as residents head for their hometowns

City streets deserted as residents head for their hometowns

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Traveling through the city on Sunday afternoon, one was
immediately struck by how empty the streets were. The roads
looked almost naked without the usual knots of honking cars and
buses.

It is four days to Idul Fitri and Jakartans have begun the
annual exodus to their hometowns, known as mudik. Some 2.5
million people are expected to flow out of the capital on buses,
trains, cars, ships and airplanes this year.

The annual flood of people out of the city traditionally
begins a week before Idul Fitri, and a week later they begin
returning to the capital -- along with many newcomers -- creating
a headache for the government as it tries to cope with the
logistical problems of so many people traveling at once.

Days before the two-day Idul Fitri holiday begins on Nov. 3,
the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road was packed with motorists heading
for West Java, Central Java and East Java.

On Saturday, Antara reported a long line of vehicles had begun
to form on the toll road, with private cars competing with large
intercity buses.

The number of motorists on the road to Bogor, Puncak and
Cianjur also increased dramatically, with no less than 200
motorcyclists passing along the road every 30 minutes, a Bogor
City Land and Transportation Agency officer said on Sunday.

"The long line of motorists began right after morning prayers
and they have not stopped since," he said.

Most of the motorists are on their way to Bandung and other
West Java cities such as Tasikmalaya and Banjar, where they will
spend Idul Fitri with their relatives.

House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono toured
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang, on
Sunday, to see how the airport is coping with an increase of up
to 35 percent in the number of passengers from the same period
last year.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa said at least 33,860
people had taken 263 flights out of Jakarta six days before Idul
Fitri, compared to 22,869 people on 243 flights last year,

"This increase is also because there are a lot more airlines
operating larger airplanes this year," he was quoted by Antara as
saying.

The National Scouts has also pitched in to help with the rush
of people returning to their hometowns this year.

The program includes helping direct traffic in public places
such as bus terminals, train stations and seaports, as well as
providing basic health services for travelers.

"This program is an annual thing. This is my third year
helping out," Imam Agrianto, a scout at Tanjung Priok Port, said.

According to psychologist Sartono Mukadis, mudik has come to
take on an almost sacred meaning for many Indonesians.

"To many Indonesians, mudik is seen as more than just a long
holiday in their hometown. It is almost sacred to them," he was
quoted by Antara as saying.

Sartono said that for many people, the holiday was a way of
letting their families and friends back in their hometowns know
how far they had come in life.

This, more than any feelings of missing their hometowns and
families, is what drives people to return home each year, despite
the costs in terms of both time and money, he said.