Exodus continue as Idul Fitri nears

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of people crowded around for hours at the city's major terminals on Saturday because of the lack of buses to transport them to their hometowns for the Idul Fitri celebrations.

Even though the number of would be homegoing travelers at Pulo Gadung and Kampung Rambutan bus terminals in East Jakarta was not as big as in previous years, many of them were forced to wait for as much as one whole day to get their buses.

Similar crowds could also be seen at the city's major railway stations, where many people queued for tickets to their hometowns, including Yogyakarta, Solo, Cirebon, Semarang, Purwokerto, Madiun, Surabaya and Jember.

The people erupted with applause and whistles at Gambir station whenever they were informed via microphones of the availability of many empty seats on the trains.

A staffer of the Tri Mulya bus company at Kampung Rambutan terminal, Tarjo, said that almost all buses came in late.

"Tri Mulya buses from Solo (Central Java), for example, were scheduled to reach here at 6 a.m. but they only managed to get here at 2 p.m.," he said.

Passengers in Pulogadung and Kampung Rambutan terminals complained on Saturday over the many buses that picked up passengers even before entering the terminals as this practice caused those escorting children and carrying goods with them to encounter difficulties in getting buses.

"I have waited here for seven hours but I still can't get a bus because I can't compete with others who have brought less stuff," said Tini in Pulogadung, while carrying her baby boy and accompanying by her husband Sukidi.

Head of the Kampung Rambutan terminal Zaini said he could not prevent buses from picking up passengers outside the terminal complex. "That is usual because demand is high while the supply is limited."

Data at the Kampung Rambutan terminal showed the number of passengers reached 11,648 as of 2 p.m. On Friday the number reached 30,146.

Head of the Jakarta Land Transportation Agency J.P. Sepang had confirmed earlier that the number of buses prepared to transport passengers during the current festive season reached 6,519, a sharp drop from 7,801 last year.

Sepang said that the decision to reduce the number of buses was made on the basis of an estimated 25-percent drop in the number of travelers during the current annual exodus for the festive season. He cited the economic crisis.

In previous years the mass departure usually saw more than one third of Jakarta's 10 million residents leave the capital to celebrate the Muslim holiday.

Railway stations

People were still arriving at Gambir train station in Central Jakarta by 10:30 a.m. on Saturday with many of them lining up from 5:30 a.m. to buy tickets to Yogyakarta and Solo.

Abdul Komaruddin of Pulogadung, East Jakarta, said that he was sick of queuing up in the "unbearably long lines" at the Pulogadung bus terminal over the past two days. He had returned home with no tickets to Solo.

"So I thought why not try here? I've lined up here since 6:45 a.m.," Abdul said.

Zaenal Abidin, head of the Jakarta office of the state-owned railway company Perumka, said a total of 77 trains, including nine relief trains, were prepared for this holiday season.

Meanwhile, among about 100 people waiting in line at Senen station on Saturday morning, a lady named Sumi from Tangerang fainted due to heat exhaustion.

Sumi's husband Edy explained that they had been waiting for a long time to buy tickets to Madiun when she fainted.

"She is just tired and needs a rest," he said, while lightly caressing her forehead.

Perumka's data showed about 332,064 people had left the city by train as of Friday.

Nationwide, this year's total exodus from various cities is projected to reach 16.92 million people, as compared to 18.49 million last year, according to Minister of Communications Giri Suseno Hadihardjono.

The ministry reported that it has deployed 408 passenger and cargo ships, 93 aircraft, 93 ferries, 238 trains, and 21,300 intercity buses for the festive season.

Meanwhile, northbound travelers from Ujungpandang, the capital of South Sulawesi, were stalled for hours on Saturday because angry crowds closed all access to Pinrang city, 172 kilometers north of Ujungpandang, which has for months been plagued by unrest.

Hundreds of people "occupied" the bridge leading to the city, and refused to allow anyone to enter. Dozens of members of the Mobile Brigade kept watch; sources said they were considering whether to move in and disperse the mob. However, as of 10 p.m. local time, the standoff continued.

The incident was a spillover of the tension that started last year when thousands of people cheated by a local cooperative went on the rampage. The locals believed some government officials were involved in the fraud.

In Yogyakarta, the head of Umbulharjo Bus Terminal, Pranyoto Adi Wahyono, said the number of Idul Fitri travelers through the terminal declined by 20 percent this year. On Friday, for instance, there were less than 250 people disembarking here, or 18 percent lower than the previous year.

In Bandar Lampung, Lampung, drivers of public transportation in Bakauheni have been given on-the-spot medical check-ups to determine their health condition and to monitor their blood for traces of alcohol, Antara reported on Saturday.

"They were examined at the Jasa Raharja mobile unit. The main objective is to weed out unfit drivers who drive long distances. This is part of our effort to minimize road accidents," said head of the claims section of the state-owned insurance company PT Jasa Raharja, H Iryani Aini.

Ideally, a driver should only drive for eight hours, a doctor of the Lampung Police, Lt. Dadang Kurnia, added. "But many do not have partners to replace them. This is what we are afraid of."

Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar Sianipar revealed Friday that police have shot 41 highway robbers and arrested 362 others along the north Java coast as part of a drive to safeguard travel for millions of people during Idul Fitri celebrations.

"Twenty three of the 41 shot died of their wounds. They had to be shot because they were resisting arrest," Togar said.

In Surabaya, East Java. the news agency reported that as of 10 a.m. Saturday some 36,000 passengers had left Purabaya bus station on 660 buses and the peak of some 143,000 people was expected as of midnight.

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara it was reported that 1,000 Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia had traveled to their homes in Lombok.

"Some of them are coming here by plane through Selaparang airport and some by ship through Lembar port," Sutanto, head of the Ministry of Manpower office for West Nusa Tenggara, said.

The workers, mostly women -- coming down from the plane attired in fancy clothes, expensive jewelry and thick make-up -- were from various villages such as Kampung Bakong, Kebonayu village, Gerung district and Lombok Barat. (ylt/ind/edt/27/44)