Padang finally tears down 1,100 stalls amid pressure

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Padang   |  Thu, 11/19/2009 1:10 PM  |  The Archipelago

Bowing to pressure from protesters, the Padang administration in West Sumatra eventually decided Wednesday to dismantle 1,100 temporary wooden stalls built for traders affected by the recent earthquake.

The temporary stalls were constructed along three stretches of road at the Pasar Raya Padang Market, which was destroyed by the Sept. 30, 2009 quake.

The project sparked a string of protests from some 2,000 small-and medium-scale traders who opened stalls in the corridors of the market.

The protesters rallied again at the Padang Legislative Council on Jl. Sawahan on Wednesday to press for their demands.

In an immediate response, Padang Mayor Mahyeldi Ansharullah made the decision to demolish the stalls after negotiating with representatives from the market traders' organization and city councilors.

He said his office would hold a technical meeting about the demolition plans and symbolically dismantle a stall in front of the traders.

The small- and medium-scale traders, including sidewalk vendors at the market have so far staged five rallies at the city council. The Wednesday protest was the biggest so far.

In front of the protesters, Pasar Raya Padang Alliance coordinator, Budi Syahrial, reminded the crowd not to resort to anarchy and urged them to wait for the first demolition by the Padang authorities.

"If they request help from us, we will help them together in an orderly manner because the stalls are for us and our brothers as well," he said.

The 7.9-magnitude quake destroyed and set fire to the two-story Pasar Inpres (Presidential Instruction) I Market. The giant tremor also damaged the nearby Inpres II, III and IV markets.

The Padang municipal administration decided to temporarily relocate registered traders at the four Inpres markets to makeshift stalls built in the middle of the road, which has been closed to make way for the stalls.

The municipality also ordered traders to vacate the Inpres II, III and IV markets and relocate to the temporary stalls, but some large-scale traders have insisted on running their businesses at the market.

"Actually, the Inpres II, III and IV markets are still worthy of being used, but we are unaware of why the municipality has decided to tear them down," Pasar Raya Padang Inpres II Traders' Organization secretary Nasrul, who runs a shop selling chili, told The Jakarta Post.

"The roads are now crammed with the temporary stalls and the access to Jl. Sudirman from Pasar Raya has been closed.

"This is frightening because it would hamper us and shoppers from fleeing the area in the event of an earthquake," said a trader, Eny, 48.

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