Hike in number of people returning from holidays

Hike in number of people returning from holidays

JAKARTA (JP): As the Christmas and Idul Fitri holidays are
over, people returning from their hometowns began to increase on
Friday.

An officer at Bakauheni port in Lampung estimated that at
least 20,000 people were crossing the Sunda Strait on ferries for
Merak in Banten province in the western tip of Java on Friday.
The figure is twice that of the previous day.

Hordes of people also packed the Rajabasa bus terminal in
downtown Lampung. They had been queuing for tickets since early
Friday morning, Antara reported.

A similar scene was also reported at Lampung's other terminal
of Panjang.

Although there is a jump in travelers at the Merak harbor, the
traffic between the port and its nearest major town of Cilegon
was not congested.

There was also a hike in the number of people in Yogyakarta's
main bus terminal of Umbulharjo.

Traffic congestions was reported in the main roads connecting
Yogyakarta and towns in the neighboring province of Central Java.

People also flocked the Wonosari bus terminal, southeast of
Yogyakarta, on Friday. A terminal official, Hartoyo, said 10
buses would be operating everyday in the coming week. Reserve
buses are also in place in case there is a sharp increase in
travelers.

Hartoyo said most of the bus tickets for seats from Jan. 1 to
Jan. 5 had been sold days before Idul Fitri on Dec. 27.

Meanwhile in Cirebon, West Java, hundreds of people had to
queue to buy tickets without seats for trains bound for Jakarta.
There is suspicion that the train tickets have been sold to
scalpers, who charge between Rp 25,000 and Rp 30,000 for a ticket
which normally costs Rp 18,000.

Despite the rising number of travelers, there were no
significant increase in crime.

An officer at Surabaya's main bus terminal of Purabaya claimed
there were no thefts since the holidays.

"We received several reports of pickpocketing but they took
place outside the terminal," the terminal head M. Subandi said on
Friday.

Accidents

Twenty people died in separate road accidents while five
others were killed in firecracker explosions during the two-day
Idul Fitri holiday in Central Java.

The provincial police spokesman, Supt. M. Ramlie, said on
Friday that the traffic accidents occurred in Brebes, Tegal and
Purworejo regencies.

A mother and her four children died instantly when their
vehicle plunged into a river in the Brebes village of Pejagan on
Wednesday night. They were from Jakarta en route to Cilacap,
Central Java.

At almost the same time, five people died when their car hit a
tree in Jembayat village, Tegal.

On Thursday, a bus collided with a minivan in Purworejo,
claiming 10 lives.

In West Java, a speeding truck carrying dozens of people
skidded into a ravine in Puspa area, killing a man identified as
Sukarna.

Another truck full of people overturned near the Tangkuban
Perahu tourist spot.

Antara quoted Cagak Police subprecinct officer Pvt. Gustono on
Friday as saying that the driver of the truck lost control of the
vehicle because of brake failure.

Gustono added that several passengers, mostly teenagers,
managed to jump off the truck before it overturned, while some 15
passengers, who remained in the truck, suffered minor injuries
and were rushed to a nearby community health center.

Firecrackers caused the death of five people in three separate
blasts in the Central Java town of Kebumen.

The first explosion killed two traders who were riding a
motorbike carrying dozens of firecrackers in Mrinen village,
Kotawinagun district. A father was killed, while his wife and
child were injured, when a heap of firecrackers they had been
keeping at their home in Kebumen exploded. Two others died after
the firecrackers they had been storing exploded.

The police warning of the danger of firecrackers has gone
unheeded in East Java, leaving two people dead and 72 others
injured during the fasting month until the first day of Idul
Fitri on Dec. 27.

Data gathered by the provincial police on Thursday revealed
that of the injury list, 17 were wounded during Takbiran, or on
the mass parades on the eve of the Muslim holiday. One of the
victims had an arm amputated and another lost an eye.
(har/nur/lup/jun)