Manggarai residents want to move into apartments
Manggarai residents want to move into apartments
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has warmly welcomed
the intention of Manggarai subdistrict residents, South Jakarta,
to live in low-cost apartments, currently being aggressively
promoted by the municipality.
"It is a good thing that you understand the benefits of living
in apartments and you realize that living in slum areas along the
river banks is not good for your health and the environment,"
Surjadi told the residents on Friday evening.
The residents told the governor at a meeting that they are
willing to move from slum areas to a better place as soon as the
administration builds apartments for them.
The governor told them that city administration is planning to
build more low-cost apartments in a bid to help improve the
condition of people living in slum areas in the city.
"Vertical housing is considered to be the best alternative in
the city these days due to the limited availability of land," he
said.
He reiterated that living in low-cost apartments is much
healthier than in slum areas. The apartments are equipped with
various public and social facilities, including a sports field
and green belt areas.
"Through such highrise buildings, it is also easier for the
city administration to design the city plan, thereby enabling the
municipality to create the city as beautiful as other major
capitals throughout the world," Surjadi said.
The governor reminded them that besides being unhealthy,
living on slum areas also ruins the environment.
"Floods in the city are caused by people who do not care about
their environment. Many people living along the river banks are
indiscriminately throwing garbage into the rivers," he said.
During the visit to the subdistrict, Governor Surjadi also
interviewed two residents who had received funds from the city
administration to improve people's welfare.
The funds distributed under the program Inpres Desa Tertinggal
(poor villages aid) to poor families, who must in turn repay the
money in installments within 10 months.
Memet and Poniyem, who each received Rp 200,000, told the
governor that the funds helped their business grow rapidly.
"After I received the funds my daily revenues increase sharply
to Rp 15,000 per day. With this I can finance the studies of my
children in high school," Memet, a beverage seller, said.
Both recipients said that they have not yet found any
difficulty in repaying the funds and they claimed that they have
never been late in paying it. (yns)