Weekdays forbidden for 'Sogo Jongkok'

JAKARTA: Street vendors along Jl. Jayanti and Jl. Fachruddin in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, can only operate on Sundays and public holidays, Mayor Muhayat said on Monday.

Known as Sogo Jongkok (squatting Sogo, the high-class department store) -- since the traders put the merchandise on the street and, therefore, the buyers have to squat to shop -- the initial number of vendors was about 400 back in 1999.

"They have now increased to thousands, clogging the street from Jl. KH Wahid Hasyim up to the Tanah Abang underpass," Muhayat was quoted as saying by Tempointeraktif.com.

He added the vendors would be organized in specific locations, where during the afternoon second-hand books sellers would be allowed to operate and food vendors in the evening. -- JP