Rano offers fire victims in Kemayoran relocation to low-cost flats

Jakarta - The Deputy Governor of Jakarta, Rano Karno, has offered residents affected by the Jiung Market fire in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, the option to relocate to low-cost flats (rusun). This proposal stems from the fact that the residential settlements in the burnt area are situated on land owned by the State Secretariat (Setneg). However, Rano noted that residents have rejected the offer.

“I spoke with several residents earlier, asking, ‘Don’t you want to try living in the flats?’ They replied, ‘Oh brother, we were born here; even our umbilical cords are buried here.’ I told them, ‘I was born in Kemayoran, in Kepu, and my umbilical cord is also buried in Kemayoran, so why should we live in crowded conditions?’” Rano said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

According to Rano, living in low-cost flats could provide a better quality of life for residents compared to living in densely populated settlements. “We are always trying to make the community realise that it is not that the current situation is unsuitable, but perhaps living in flats would be far more decent,” Rano explained.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rano inspected the fire site in the Kemayoran area, Central Jakarta. Based on preliminary data, the fire affected 304 buildings, impacting 354 heads of households or 679 individuals. The affected population includes 326 males and 353 females, comprising 35 elderly people, 90 toddlers, 53 primary school children, six junior high school students, 22 vocational high school students, and 414 adults, including pregnant women. To assist the victims, the Jakarta Provincial Government has prepared several facilities at the evacuation centre located at Yusuf Hamka Field.