Fire razes Simpong market

Fire razes Simpong market

PALU, Central Sulawesi: A fire swept through the Simpong traditional market in Luwuk, the capital of Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi, on Saturday morning, destroying all of the stalls.

No casualties were reported but material losses are expected to reach billions of rupiah.

Eyewitnesses said the fire started at 3 a.m. at a stall in the middle of the market, which is located on the coast of the Peleng Strait.

Locals said firefighters did not reach the scene until three hours later, and only extinguished the blaze at 9:30 a.m.

Banggai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Guntur Widodo said the police were investigating the incident but he suspected the fire was started by a short circuit.

"There is nothing we could do. Everything was destroyed by the fire," cried Marawiyah, one of the approximately 300 vendors at the market.

This was the second time the Simpong market was destroyed by fire, with a blaze in 1999 razing all the stalls. -- Antara

Semarang tries pollution-free zone

SEMARANG: The Semarang mayoralty administration will introduce the Pollution-Free Simpang Lima zone in July on a trial basis.

During the trial period, all motorized vehicles will be banned from the area, which is surrounded by shopping centers, from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.

If the trial is successful, the administration will ban all motorized vehicles from the area on Sunday mornings.

The head of the administration's information and communication divison, Masrohan Bahri, said on Saturday the program was aimed at "turning Semarang into a clean city".

He said a joint team from the provincial transportation agency, the city police and the public order officer would supervise the trial.

In support of the program, the administration also will provide emission tests for motorized vehicles. -- Antara

Gorontalo to get naval base

GORONTALO, Gorontalo: A naval base is to be established near Tomini Bay to combat the increasing number of foreign trawlers illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.

Gorontalo Governor Fadel Muhammad said on Saturday Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Bernard Sondakh had approved the plan.

He said that with the base, the Navy would be able to pursue legal action against foreign trawlers illegally fishing in Indonesian waters without having to go to Bitung, North sulawesi.

Fadel said he hoped the naval base would discourage foreign trawlers from entering the country's waters. -- Antara