Tanamur strikes deal to reopen later this week

Tanamur strikes deal to reopen later this week

JAKARTA (JP): Diskotik Tanamur, the oldest discotheque in the
country, will be allowed by to resume operations later this week
after being closed since Saturday, a city administration official
said yesterday.

The discotheque on Jl. Tanah Abang Timur in Central Jakarta
was temporarily closed following complaints from residents and
motorists about congestion arising from cars parked along nearby
streets.

Toha Reno of the city public order office said yesterday that
the decision to allow Tanamur to reopen was taken earlier this
week after the disco's management agreed to a greater involvement
of the city parking and land transportation agencies in the
management of the area's parking system.

"It is hoped that the further involvement of city officials
will unravel traffic congestion in the area which is mainly
caused by the unprofessional way parking has been handled until
now," he said.

According to Toha, the city tourism and parking agency offices
had warned the management of Tanamur, one of the most famous
nightspots in the capital, to handle parking along Jl. Tanah
Abang Timur and Jl. Budi Kemuliaan properly.

Upon learning that cars were still being parked in a way that
left very little space for passing vehicles, officials from the
agencies met the management at 3 a.m. on Saturday and instructed
the owner, Ahmad Fahmy, to close the nightspot temporarily, he
said.

Toha said there was heavy traffic on streets near the
discotheque every night of the week, particularly over the last
month.

"In the last month the number of people at the discotheque has
shown a rapid increase evident from the abundance of private cars
and taxis in the area all through the night," he said.

He said cars were always parked bumper-to-bumper along the two
streets between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Toha said the problem had worsened because people who managed
the parking were only interested in making money and did not
consider the interests of local residents and other motorists.

Parking in the area is handled by hoodlums and officials from
the city parking agency who are failing in their duty, he added.

"The officials and the hoodlums only care about the money.
It's a pity the discotheque's management did not employ their own
parking officers to oversee parking in the area," Toha said.

He added that his office had received complaints from several
Tanamur customers who reported parking attendants had forced them
to pay Rp 10,000 to park their cars in the vicinity of the disco.

Tanamur provides a special parking area for its customers.
However it is only able to accommodate 60 cars meaning that many
others have to be parked along the two streets, Toha said.

Tanamur's owner Fahmy refused to comment on the matter but
Melly, a member of his staff, confirmed on Tuesday that the
discotheque had been closed down by the city administration as a
result of the parking problem.

Tanamur, which will celebrate its 28th anniversary in
December, is also widely known as a popular hangout for gays and
transvestites. (cst/bsr)