Jakarta deserted during Idul Fitri festivities
Jakarta deserted during Idul Fitri festivities
JAKARTA (JP): The city was deserted over the Idul Fitri holidays, with only a few private cars and public buses using the major thoroughfares over the past three days.
The scarcity of transportation left a great number of commuters stranded in city bus shelters.
Many people, mostly low-income families, hoping to visit recreation centers or their relatives were forced to wait for hours to get public buses.
A number of the frustrated decided to take taxis and ojek (motorcycle taxis) and pay the additional fare, much higher than the Rp 500 bus rate.
"I have no choice but to pay Rp 25,000 (US$11.30) rather than wait for a bus several more hours," Ati, a 36-year-old factory employee, told The Jakarta Post at the Indonesian Miniature Park, in East Jakarta, on Friday.
The shortage of buses also led to a crowd of stranded commuters in many city terminals, many of whom failed to get a bus after waiting for about two hours.
Many of them blamed the city authorities for poorly managing the transportation system.
"I can't believe they never anticipated these conditions," Suwarno, 48, a bookseller, told the Post at the Bina Ria Remaja recreation park.
The authorities shouldn't have thought only about the business side but how to serve the public properly, he said.
Suwarno was inclined to believe that the authorities provided more buses to transport the great number of homebound travelers for the greater profit margin.
After the mass prayer on Friday morning, the first day of Idul Fitri, many Moslems paid a ritual visit to the graves of their relatives and, then, visited families and friends.
They used the next day to go to the recreation centers along with family, despite the scarcity of public buses.
Recreation parks usually prepare a series of programs and performances by noted singers and artists to attract visitors at this time of year.
A total of 60,000 people visited the Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta on Saturday and 100,000 were expected on Sunday.
On the darker side, the national police announced over the weekend that a total of 40 people were killed in 74 traffic accidents, recorded nationwide, during the Idul Fitri exodus between Feb. 22 and March 2.
According to national police spokesman Brig. Gen. IK Ratta, a total of 43 others were badly injured and 86 others suffered minor injuries.
The number is slightly lower than last Idul Fitri when "94 people died, 65 were seriously injured and 44 others sustained minor injuries in a total of 145 traffic accidents," Ratta told reporters on Friday.
"The number of traffic accidents might even be higher in the next following days when the travelers head back to the city," Ratta estimated.
Material losses recorded from traffic accidents this year totaled only Rp 20.4 million (US$9,272) compared to the Rp 125.2 million recorded last year.
The spokesman also said the police ticketed 2,464 traffic violators during the Idul Fitri period this year, almost the same as last year's 2,514 cases.
The number of criminal cases recorded throughout the country during this year's Idul Fitri totaled 123, compared to the 309 cases last year.
Meanwhile, the Antara news agency reported yesterday that fire destroyed the Mystery Castle in the Fantasy Land complex at the Ancol Dreamland recreation center in North Jakarta on Saturday night.
The city fire brigade said the fire started at 8:55 p.m. and was extinguished at 11 p.m.
The extent of the damage and the cause of the fire are still under police investigation. SCTV estimated yesterday that the blaze may have caused Rp 25 billion (US$11.5 million) in losses.
Antara also reported a fire on Jl. Wahid Hasyim, Central Jakarta, which destroyed seven kiosks. In West Jakarta, a Bank Export Import office also caught fire, damaging the inside of the building. The causes of the fires and the extent of the losses are still being calculated. (bsr/29/pwn)