Traders express opposition to Plaza Kota Bumi construction
Traders express opposition to Plaza Kota Bumi construction
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Hundreds of traders from Kota Bumi traditional market met with
members of the Tangerang Regency Council in Tigaraksa on Monday
to express their objections to the construction of Plaza Kota
Bumi.
The traders argued that the plaza, the construction of which
is under way, would kill their business as it was built close to
the traditional market.
"Do not duplicate Cileduk in building a plaza, please. Cileduk
is a densely populated area and even if a plaza was built close
to the traditional market, many people would still come to the
traditional markets," Markis, one of the traders told members of
Tangerang Regency Council Commission D that handles developmental
issues.
Uun, another trader, said that should the plaza be allowed to
operate, hundreds of traders from the traditional market, street
vendors and store owners along Jl. Raya Kota Bumi would go
bankrupt, while they still have to pay installments for their
kiosks to the developer.
The protesters also alleged that the land on which the plaza
was situated was owned by the Tangerang regency administration
and that it has yet to obtain a construction permit from the
regental administration.
In addition, the traders also voiced an objection to the Kota
Bumi village administration for issuing an eviction letter to
street vendors as the developer planned to build a park in the
area vendors use to sell their goods.
In response to their protest, Commission D chairman Kurtubi
Su'ud said that he agreed that the construction of the plaza
would kill the businesses of traders from the traditional market.
"We will soon conduct a survey of the location and summon the
developer, including several related agencies under the
administration that have allowed construction projects on public
land," he said.
Su'ud said he sympathized with the traders because they had
just emerged from a prolonged dispute over the ownership of their
kiosks with the developer but were now facing another problem.
None of employees at the marketing office of Taman Kota Bumi
Housing Developer would comment on the issue.
"Let's wait for our boss," one of the employees told The
Jakarta Post on Monday.