Surjadi concerned over condition of traditional markets
Surjadi concerned over condition of traditional markets
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja expressed concern
yesterday over the poor condition of many traditional markets,
and about the way sidewalk vendors were conducting business on
pavements.
The governor made the remarks in his working visit to Gandaria
Utara and Kramat Pela subdistricts in Kebayoran Baru, South
Jakarta.
"We have to abolish an image which depicts that traditional
markets are dirty and disorganized," he said.
Even though supermarkets are mushrooming in the city,
traditional markets are still needed by people because of the
convenience of bargaining and the possibility of obtaining things
cheaply.
"I ask officers of the related institutions to pay more
attention to sanitation in the traditional markets," he said.
Commenting on the incorrect use of pavements, the governor
said it is caused mainly by many vendors having a need to make a
living.
"I am not against the vendors, but please don't operate on the
pavements. The vendors' operations on the pavements disturb the
nearby areas, thereby causing traffic jams," Surjadi said.
He said that he will ask the related offices to take action
against vendors that trade on the pavements.
"This action has nothing to do with humanity. We just want to
uphold existing laws," he said.
Seeing many pavements damaged despite being newly constructed,
Surjadi said that the constructors should be held responsible.
"They should not be good at just getting profit. How can a
pavement which was constructed just one month ago already be
damaged?" he asked.
"I even think that maybe it is necessary for the city
administration to make a pavement office in charge of taking care
of pavements throughout the city," Surjadi said, urging the City
Public Works Office to supervise every pavement construction
project being undertaken.
River dredging
Surjadi later inspected the implementation of the river
normalization program in the two subdistricts and said that a lot
of funds are needed annually to finance the program.
Rp 2 billion (US$909,000) is allocated annually from the city
budget to finance the river dredging project, but it is
sufficient only to remove garbage from the city's rivers. A much
larger fund is needed to clean up the rivers properly.
The river normalization program, handled by the Public Works
Office, covers 13 rivers. They are Ciliwung, Mokevaart, Angke,
Pesanggrahan, Grogol, Cipinang, Kali Baru, Sunter, Jati Kramat,
Krukut, Buaran, Kramat and Cakung rivers.
During the governor's visit, local residents said that the
Grogol River, which passes through the two subdistricts, is often
flooded during the rainy season.
Recently, head of City Public Works Office Soeharto said that
the city administration should provide more funds from its
budget to facilitate the implementation of an intensive dredging
program as a part of the municipality's program to normalize the
function of the city's rivers.
He said that each day at least 1,350 cubic meters of garbage
was thrown into the 13 rivers flowing through the city. The
public works office is able to remove about 350 cubic meters of
garbage per day, with about 600 cubic meters being carried out to
sea. The remaining 400 cubic meters of garbage piles up on the
river banks. (31)