River crossing raft fills in for ruined bridge

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 03/27/2008 11:52 AM

CROSSING IN STYLE: Residents cross Ciliwung River using a bamboo raft operated by locals Tuesday near a bridge construction site in Condet, East Jakarta. (JP/P.J. Leo)

Up above the Ciliwung river in Condet, East Jakarta, workers were busy constructing a 40-meter wide steel bridge, while down below every now and then people were seen crossing the river on a bamboo raft tied to metal cables.

"Every 10 minutes the boat goes back and forth, around the clock, from Condet to Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. Students, workers, vendors, housewives, you name it; they come and go," said Arif, 34, a local resident operating the boat Wednesday.

With the old Gantung cable bridge destroyed by floodwaters last year and work on the new one yet to be complete, the raft crossing is the cheapest and fastest way for people to reach the other side of the river.

"We built the raft several months after the bridge collapsed. Lots of people needed to cross, so we wanted to help," the native Betawi man said.

Every morning and afternoon there are dozens of students and workers queuing for the boat which is big enough to carry around 35 people each crossing. At night time, vendors carrying goods use the boat on their way to Pasar Minggu market.

An adult pays Rp 1,000 (US$0.10), while students and children can cross free.

There are four groups of residents, each consisting of around a dozen men, who take it in turns to operate the raft on 12-hour shifts. A group can earn as much as Rp 900,000 a shift.

The men chipped in to build and maintain the raft and the cables, spending more than Rp 5 million (US$327) so far, Arif said.

The passengers are happy with the service.

"I could take a bus to Pasar Minggu, but it has to go around the area and costs me more time and money," said Dinda, 23, an employee who lives in Condet and works at Pasar Minggu.

However, she said, the sooner the government finishes building the new bridge the better.

Last year, the administration planned 90 days for the construction of the bridge. Spending some Rp 3.88 billion from the city budget, the project started in September, but failed to meet its deadline.

"The construction will be completed by the end of March," City Public Works Agency deputy Budi Widiantoro said Wednesday.

The bridge's location between crowded riverbank residential areas is one reason for the slow progress.

"The narrow roads have prevented us from bringing any heavy equipment to the site. We have to hoist and move tons of steel structure manually using pulleys," said Haryono, a construction worker.

Bad weathers and the ever-changing river current were among other hindrances to the project, he added.

The men operating the raft are not afraid of losing income when the new bridge is completed because they have other work.

Arif, for example, is also an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, while Iwan, another operator, sells fruit at Pasar Minggu market.

The old Gantung bridge, which was built and completed in the 1950s by two Betawi brothers Nasir and Amir bin Saibun, earned praise from former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, as it helped residents considerably. The governor also declared Condet a heritage area in 1971. (dre)

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