North Jakarta City Government Relocates Ornamental Plant Vendors at Lake Bisma, Tanjung Priok

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The North Jakarta City Government (Pemkot) has relocated ornamental plant vendors who frequently occupied the roadside at Lake Bisma, RW 12, Papanggo Ward, Tanjung Priok District, on Tuesday. “This step is part of the government’s serious efforts to restore the function of public spaces while supporting water channel normalisation,” said Papanggo Ward Head Sugiharjo Timbodi in Jakarta on Tuesday. Before the relocation, he said, local authorities had issued warnings to the vendors to immediately vacate the area. The relocation, which began the previous day, involved members of the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP), Public Facilities and Infrastructure Handling Officers (PPSU), and the District Water Resources Implementation Unit (SDA). Sugiharto stated that the approach used remained persuasive and humane. Since Monday afternoon (4/5), relocation had already been carried out, and on Tuesday, it continued with a total of around 35 combined personnel. “We ensure that the relocation proceeds with an approach prioritising humanity,” Sugiharto said. The relocation process was even directly facilitated using trucks from the Water Resources Sub-Department to the Kemayoran area. According to Sugiharto, the presence of the ornamental plant vendors was obstructing access for dredging the connecting channel (PHB) of the Cincin Reservoir, which was being carried out by the SDA team. Once access is cleared, the channel’s function is expected to return to optimal, and the risk of flooding can be minimised. “After this area is cleared, dredging the channel becomes easier. This is important to reduce the potential for flooding in the surrounding region,” Sugiharto explained.