Muara Karang traders take row to council
Muara Karang traders take row to council
JAKARTA (JP): Traders opposed to the allocation of kiosk sites at the Muara Karang market in North Jakarta took their protest to city councilors on Monday.
The traders said the sites in the new four-story market were marketed before a promised lottery to decide where the 271 original traders would be located.
"We have already told the authorities that the lottery should be held," Choriyah, a vegetable trader, said.
"But the Pluit authority is holding a lottery today when we know the sites have already been decided so we decided to come here instead," she said yesterday.
The market, which will soon be renovated, is under the supervision of the city-owned Pluit management authority, BPL Pluit.
"The circular from BPL Pluit already designates where our kiosks are. So the lottery is actually useless," a spokesman of the traders, Napis, told the councilors.
He said food and vegetable sellers are to be on the third floor upwards, while outside traders selling electronics have been given the ground floor.
"It is no secret that traders will probably resort to operating from carts in the market's back alleys" rather than face few buyers on the upper floors, said Napis.
"We demand that BPL Pluit take into account the habits of traditional buyers and traders," he said.
Around 80 traders visited the City Council where they were guarded by security officials. They displayed posters which were confiscated by the police.
The traders also complained late last year to the council, saying they were intimidated by the police into agreeing to be placed on any floor.
Darrundono, the chief of the Pluit authority, wrote in a circular dated March 14 addressed to the traders that the lottery for kiosks was scheduled from yesterday to March 20.
He also said the removal of traders to an unnamed temporary site will be conducted from March 25 to April 6.
The circular says the construction of the new market will begin on April 8.
A private firm, PT Bumi Citra Sentosa Jaya, has been appointed by Governor Surjadi Soedirdja to rebuild the market. But traders said they were confused on who they are dealing with, as representatives of another company is involved, named PT Bumi Permai Perkasa.
Councilor Nitra Arsyad stressed they should only deal with the Pluit management agency, and said the commission will check further into the report. (anr)