Traders and students protest to Bogor mayor over market fire
Traders and students protest to Bogor mayor over market fire
BOGOR, West Java (JP): Hundreds of traders and students marched to the mayoralty office yesterday demanding clear explanations on several issues concerning the Pasar Kebon Kembang market fire on March 28, in which 10 people died.
As some of them unfurled banners and read poems in front of hundreds of curious onlookers, 15 delegates had more than an hour-long meeting with mayor Eddy Gunardi and the chief of Bogor district police Zainal Arifin.
Similar to an earlier protest by students, the delegates demanded confirmation on the number of victims and asking the authorities to relocate traders to new kiosks.
They insisted that the authorities should relocate the kiosks of some 6,000 local traders who lost their belongings instead of rebuilding them.
"Otherwise we will have to buy the kiosks again as happened after the three previous fires that razed the market," said Heriah, one of the traders.
The last fire on March 28 reportedly started on the third floor of the Ramayana Department Store. Some people suggested more than 200 of the store's employees were inside when the blaze broke out.
The traders claimed that the existence of the department store has impaired the safety conditions in the market.
Mayor Gunardi reiterated during the meeting with the delegates that the number of victims was 10, not 76 as the police and the press had first reported.
He said his conclusion was based on his involvement in the search and rescue operation, the reports from forensic examinations and the reports from the Ramayana management that there were only 10 employees missing.
He said the people could ask him to step down from his post as Bogor mayor or sue him in court if they were dissatisfied.
Responding to the traders' demand for the renovation of the market Gunardi said such a decision could only be made after the fact-finding team assesses the real condition of the market.
Gunardi promised the traders, who are now being temporarily accommodated at makeshift kiosks near the burned market, that he would be more strict before issuing building permits to developers in the future. He said he would ask them to be more careful in matters related to construction safety.
"I will make sure that there are rooms for firefighters and water is always available in the hydrants," he said. (03)