More donations for Kartini fire victims

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has given aid worth Rp 416.4 million to 3,782 people who lost their homes and possessions in a fire in the Kartini subdistrict of Sawah Besar in Central Jakarta.

The Ministry of Social Services provided Rp 362 million of the money and the remaining Rp 54.4 million was given by the city administration.

The donation was handed over by Djailani, the city's deputy governor for social welfare on Friday.

Djailani said in his speech that each house owner would get Rp 1 million and 10 sacks of cement.

At least 363 houses built on 3.7 hectares of land on Jl. Kartini IX Dalam were destroyed by fire on Aug. 15.

The fire started at 4:20 p.m. and took fireman and local residents six hours to bring under control.

"The donation will not immediately replace what you lost, but you can use the money to finance the rebuilding of your homes," he said.

Gotong Royong Social Foundation, which used to be chaired by former president Soeharto's wife, Tien Soeharto, gave the fire victims money and sarongs on Friday.

"The foundation will give each of you Rp 2,000 every day for the next seven days," Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah said at the ceremony.

The Kartini subdistrict head, Nursanto, said earlier that before Friday's donations had been counted, those who lost their homes in the fire had received a total of Rp 21.5 million in cash, 16 tons of rice, 1,820 boxes of instant noodles, 1,100 kilograms of sugar and 960 sacks of cement.

Mayor Andi earlier promised to allow residents to rebuild their houses.

Despite the donations of cement, residents voiced fears that they would not have enough money to begin rebuilding their houses.

"We only got 2.5 sacks of cement and no other building materials. It's not enough," said Hasyim, a former driver at a spare parts shop in the Glodok area of West Jakarta.

They called on the city authorities to provide them with help in addition to the money and cement.

Suwarni, 27, who lost her house in the blaze, said that her family could not afford to hire construction workers to rebuild her house at the current daily rate of Rp 30,000.

"I have enough food and milk for my two children, but we need a proper dwelling," she said.

Most of those who lost their homes have erected canvas shelters on the sites where their houses once stood. Others have already begun reconstruction work. (ivy)