Vendors reject town square, ITC

Vendors reject town square, ITC

DEPOK: The vendors at traditional markets in Depok complained
on Thursday about the ongoing construction of Depok Town Square
and ITC shopping centers as they feared the new facilities will
kill their businesses.

"We want the next elected Depok mayor to side with us and
decline to inaugurate the shopping centers," said Syafrizal,
chairman of the Association of Indonesia Market Traders in Depok.

Otherwise, other traders said, they would stage protests
against the shopping centers.

The traders said the shopping centers will each have a
hypermarket.

According to Syafrizal, the presence of the hypermarkets will
kill Kemiri Muka traditional market, which is located in between
the two shopping centers.

"The vendors there have suffered due to the presence of street
vendors just outside the market building ... 25 percent of the
registered vendors have closed their businesses," he added.

Head of Depok Market Agency, Tutun Sofyan, acknowledged that
the administration was in a dilemma.

"We try to be fair to everyone ... we cannot reject
investment. But I believe that there is a market for traditional
markets," he remarked. -- Antara