Roads badly damaged in Ciputat

Roads badly damaged in Ciputat

JAKARTA (JP): Damaged roads in the Ciputat district of Tangerang, some 30 km west of the city, are causing major traffic problems and must be repaired soon, residents said yesterday.

One of the worst off is busy Jl. Dewi Sartika. The crowded street, lined with shopping centers and supermarkets in the center of town, is full of potholes and big stones left over from construction projects.

Traffic on the road is backing up every day and, as if to make things worse, heaps of rotting garbage are pilling up on the roadside.

Another road in need of repair is Jl.H. Usman, located near the Ciputat market. Only half of the road is passable, the residents said, because the other half has practically become a "gutter" of muddy potholes.

Strategically located near the busy market, the road is also used by hundreds of ojek (motorcycle taxis) drivers, who have replaced the becak (three-wheeled pedicabs) drivers banned from operating on the town's main streets. (18/bas)