East Jakarta to evict hundreds

JAKARTA: About 200 houses on the banks of Pulomas dam, better known as Ria-Rio dam, in Kayuputih, East Jakarta, will be evicted on Thursday, an official said on Monday.

Head of Kayuputih subdistrict, Syofian Thahir, said several residents had agreed to demolish their own houses before the deadline to vacate the area on Thursday.

"Those who have agreed have taken the Rp 300,000 (US$35) in compensation for each house," he said.

He expected more residents to come to terms with the eviction by taking the compensation money, "so the municipality would not have to use excavators and bulldozers".

One of the residents, Marlo Sitompul, said most of them had refused to take the money, saying that the amount was not enough to cover the expenses for the demolition.

"Most of us will likely stay here until the municipality uses force to make us leave," he said on Monday.

Marlo added that most of the residents had already been evicted on another occasion in the 1980s, from the area where the ITC Cempaka Mas mall now stands. --JP