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)