Mayor call for order at Pondok Labu market

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta Mayor H. Pardjoko has expressed concern over the many street vendors who recklessly operate in and around the Pondok Labu market.

Pardjoko ordered his subordinates to immediately patrol the vendors operating at Pondok Labu market and check for proper licensing and positioning.

"All members of the South Jakarta mayoralty office have to put the vendors in order so as to prevent them from obstructing traffic flow and to help maintain cleanliness in the area," Pardjoko said to Antara after leading an operation against negligent vendors on Sunday morning.

During the operation, Pardjoko was accompanied by a number of noted figures in the mayoralty.

The order to get rid of the vendors was made by Pardjoko after he found out that many sellers did not take heed of the mayor's call for cleanliness.

Pardjoko was increasingly emotional and commanded his officers to demolish tents and other facilities used for the vendors' business activities.

The Pondok Labu marketplace was renovated last year and looked more like a shopping center than a traditional market on its opening day. But after just a few weeks the street vendors that were cleared away during the renovation herded back. They returned to their original spots, leaving the place as filthy as it was before renovation.

"The action was imperative because the vendors did not show the will to obey the mayoralty's law and order," Pardjoko explained furiously.

After the operation, the mayor held an informal meeting with members of the local neighborhood community in search of ways to solve the problem.

Jufri, a university lecturer who lives near the market, suggested that the mayoralty allow the vendors to operate at a deserted 4,000 square-metre plot near the market.

Pardjoko accepted the proposal in principle but didn't have any information about the owner of the land.

Pardjoko also demanded the mayoralty's information office to be swifter and more efficient in prohibiting street vendors. He also asked the mayoralty's sanitation office to further encourage the South Jakarta public to live hygienically in order to win the Adipura trophy for cleanest area. (23)