New location sought for Senen traders

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta municipality is considering alternative locations for traders whose kiosks were razed in the weekend Senen shopping center fire, an official said yesterday.

The suggested relocation places include the shopping center's parking lot and the Jakarta Kemayoran fairground, Deputy Governor for Administration Affairs Idroes said.

However, the traders refused to be moved to Kemayoran because the unfavorable location might harm their businesses.

Instead, they asked to be relocated to the shopping center's parking ground or the Atrium shopping center across from the burned buildings.

Idroes said the governor would decide the new location.

The fire gutted more than 750 shops in block IV and V of the Central Jakarta shopping center.

Idroes said the authority was still investigating the fire's cause which started midnight last Friday and burned until early Monday.

Central Jakarta fire department chief Suharso said the fire could have been handled sooner if the buildings had had adequate fire prevention devices.

"The fire would not have lasted so long and caused such extensive damage had the buildings' alarm system and ceiling sprinklers worked," Suharso said.

Suharso said he could not recall the last time the Senen devices were checked. He said checking the building's fire protection equipment was not solely the fire department's responsibility.

"There are thousands of buildings in Jakarta whose fire prevention devices we have to control. With our limited personnel, it would take us almost two years to launch the operation, " he said.

Suharso said between 600 and 700 buildings in Jakarta were not well equipped in the event of fire.

Meanwhile, a Senen department store representative denied reports his store was destroyed in the blaze.

Ramayana Department Store's Setyadi Surya said Ramayana was in a different building from the fire site and reopened yesterday.

Although police have not been able to estimate the fire's cost, traders estimated each shop lost about Rp 100 million.

Many traders insured neither their kiosks nor their goods.

"We have only been here for a year and have not made any profit," one traders said.

Another said he was disappointed a PT Jaya Property representative had not contacted him. PT Jaya Property manage the shopping center.

PT Jaya Property data estimates the fire would cost it about Rp 1 billion of this year's net income.

The Central Jakarta head of Telkom, the state-run telecommunications company, said the blaze disconnected nearly 80 percent of the areas 1,500 telephone lines.

The company has set up automatic answering machines to explain why the lines were disconnection.

Some kiosk owners yesterday told the city council's United Development Party (PPP) faction that they suspected arson.

The traders who owned clothing and shoe shops on the first floor of block IV denied the fire started on their floor as the fire department reported.

They said when they first came to the shopping center, fire had not spread to the first floor and did not do so until much later.

They said they had witnesses who said the fire came from the block's second floor.

The PPP's Saud Rahman said his faction would investigate. (02)