Medan loses its historical buildings

Medan loses its historical buildings

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The capital of North Sumatra, Medan,
will soon lose its rich legacy of historical buildings because
they are being demolished at an alarming rate, say non-
governmental organizations (NGOs).

Medan city administration has failed to heed provincial ruling
No. 6/1988 which bans demolition of historical buildings, Hasti
Tarekat told reporters in Medan on Tuesday after meeting the head
of provincial legislators.

The executive director of the Sumatra Legacy Body was
accompanied by representatives of seven other NGOs.

Hasti said almost 90 percent of Medan's 42 buildings under
government protection had either been modified or demolished. The
local government declared 42 buildings and areas to be of
significant historical value or only about half of the 73
buildings and areas that the body considered should be
untouchable.

In their meeting with legislator Tom Adlin Hajar, the
activists cited three buildings that have been demolished;
Kerapatan building on Jl. Brig. Jen. Katamso, a bank building on
Jl. Pemuda and the Public Works office on Jl. Listrik.

One building the body believes to be of historical value but
had not been protected by the provincial government was the Mega
Eltra building, which was constructed in 1912 and belonged to a
resident.

The city government claimed it was not on the list of
protected buildings and so had been sold for Rp 26 billion to
make way for a shopping center. The building has now been
completely demolished. --JP