Koja vendors leave site for port project
Koja vendors leave site for port project
JAKARTA (JP): More than 100 street vendors along Jl. Pantai
Laut, in the North Koja area of North Jakarta, have voluntarily
taken down their semi-permanent kiosks in keeping with the city
ordinance to vacate the area.
"Several municipality officials helped the owners demolish
their kiosks on Wednesday in order to speed up the land
acquisition," said Soesantomo, whose home is next door to the
abandoned vendors on Jl.Pantai Laut.
As a result of the same city decree, Soesantomo told The
Jakarta Post yesterday that most of the street vendors have
started to occupy dozens of neighboring empty houses.
The houses were abandoned by their owners when they received
compensation from a local consortium planning to build a new
container terminal project in the area.
Meanwhile, government officials, military officers and dozens
of workers started to bulldoze houses on Jl. Dusun and Jl. Dobo
yesterday without any resistance from the owners even though they
wanted a delay in the demolition to allow to pack.
"We still need time to pack our belongings," a resident said
helplessly.
Last year, Jakarta's administration persuaded other residents
to abandon their land in the same North Koja area after letting
PT Pelindo II, a state-owned port company, and the Humpuss
business group, jointly build a container terminal on a 90-
hectare plot.
Humpuss is controlled by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra,the
youngest son of President Soeharto.
Refused
Some 40,000 people who used to live in the area, however,
refused to receive the proposed compensation amount of Rp 160,000
(US$74) per square meter and demanded that PT Pelindo II
compensate with Rp 2,275,000 ($1,083) per square meter.
Slamet, a former street vendor, said yesterday that he is
still looking for another place to rebuild his business.
He said that the street vendors had received compensation
payment ranging from Rp 200,000 to Rp 800,000.
The majority of North Jakartans allowed the street vendors to
open their stalls in 1991 as part of efforts to get them more
involved in the "Visit Indonesia Year" campaign.
Soesantomo questioned whether it was appropriate or not to
allow street vendors to sell goods that, in his opinion, did not
attract either foreign or domestic tourists.
Hasan Saman, the spokesman for the residents, said that around
2,000 people had already accepted the compensation.
The North Jakarta administration disagreed, claiming that
3,500 residents had already accepted the compensation money and
agreed to abandon their houses.
Soesantomo said that currently only six of around fifty
families who used to live on Jl. Pantai Laut preferred to stay
and fight through legal channels.
"The others have moved," he said, referring to his neighbors
on Jl. Pulau Laut, which is located along the shore of Jakarta
Bay.(09)