It's all about location: Inside vs outside

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 06/11/2009 1:13 PM  |  City

Vendors in Kramat Jati traditional market on Jl. Raya Bogor are struggling to boost their evening sales, as dozens of fellow competitors crowd their market selling their products on the sidewalks.

Suko, 48, a vendor who sells coconuts, cassava and meatballs, said the presence of street vendors stopped shoppers from entering the market as they could simply buy items on the street.

"People just jump out of the public minivan, buy what they need and take another minivan. Many of them don't bother to enter the market and visit us, although we are also open 24 hours a day inside," she said on Sunday.

She said most of the sidewalk vendors traded in the evening, after the city market operator, PD Pasar Jaya, built them a roof to protect their items from rainwater last year.

Suko, who has been a vendor at the market for 20 years, said the street sellers previously used thick plastic covers to protect them from sunlight as they traded all day.

"Now that we can trade in the evening, we face tough competition on the street. They sell anything there, from fish and vegetables to clothes," she said.

Jl. Raya Bogor becomes severely congested every day after 5 p.m. when vendors started displaying their items along the sidewalk until around 5 a.m. The unpleasant smell of fish, crabs and shells can reach passersby who are trapped in the traffic jam.

Vendors at Palmerah Market in West Jakarta and Kebayoran Lama Market in South Jakarta are also complaining about street vendors in front of their respective markets.

Pasar Jaya spokesman Nur Hafid said he was well aware of the market vendors' complaints, but the street vendors' presence was beyond the market's control.

"That is right. I realize that our market vendors find it difficult to trade, but we are not responsible for any street vendors outside our gates. They are the responsibility of the district and subdistrict head," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said the company would convey the problem to the East Jakarta mayor in a meeting in the near future.

Nur Hafid said the market could provide a space for the street vendors inside their building, but he doubted they would be willing to be relocated from the street.

Meanwhile, some vendors who occupy Block C at the Induk Kramat Jati Market, which is located several hundreds meters from the Kramat Jati Market, complained about security in their area.

The Block C building, which features many rooms with rolling doors, is where retailers of seasoning and herbs like red onion and garlic sell their goods.

Sumiatun, the owner of UD Gatot, said she was robbed three times in the past two years. Last week, a thief broke into her stall, taking a hundred kilograms of shallots in a sack.

"It happened when the price of shallots reached Rp 17,000 *US$1.70* per kilogram," she said, adding her husband was reluctant to report the robbery to the security because they doubted their stolen goods would be returned.

Sony, a trader, also questioned the security in quieter spots of Block C. His fellow trader's mobile phone was recently stolen when he was sleeping. Nur Hafid said the Induk Kramat Jati Market was guarded by some 60 security officers under contract, who would also conduct an investigation into crimes committed at the market.

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