Traders reject relocation site

TANGERANG: The majority of vendors who lost their kiosks in the fire that razed Jombang market in Ciputat district, Tangerang, on Tuesday, refused to be relocated to either the vacant land next to Jombang railway station or a soccer field.

A vendor, Wawang, told The Jakarta Post, that the two temporary relocation sites offered by the regency administration were not strategic for business. "The block of land next to the railway station is too small. There is not enough space for all 400 of us," he said.

The regency's market supervision head Alatief Abdullatief said it would be impossible to rebuild the market if the vendors were allowed to operate in the market's parking lot.

The fire, which was reportedly caused by an electrical short circuit, razed 395 kiosks.

Regent Ismet Iskandar said that developer PT Arya Graha Asrindo should continue the project to build a three-story market building, which was halted in 1998 due to the financial crisis that year.

"The developer only managed to build a one-story building. The market was opened on August 1999," he said. -- JP