Indah Setiawati and Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 03/18/2010 11:58 AM
Dozens of vendors swarmed the street in front of Senen Inpres Market, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.
City-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya refused to prepare a temporary location for vendors whose kiosks were damaged by the recent blaze at the market's Blok VI building.
Vendors traded on the sidewalk in front of the Blok VI building, now surrounded by debris of collapsed kiosks and piles of half-burnt items.
The sidewalk used to be occupied by dozens of stalls.
Vendors who did not manage to secure a place at the yard displayed their goods on the street, slowing down traffic.
Ucok, 29, a handbag vendor, said he would continue using a space that used to be his stall location to trade.
"After these bags are sold, I will buy more bags to sell here," he said pointing to tarpaulin where he had placed dozens of bags.
On the other hand, Grace Boru Simbolon, a vendor who owned two kiosks in the building, said she was selling on the street because she had no alternative.
"I do not mind selling on the street, but Pasar Jaya should begin repairs as soon as possible so I can trade from my kiosks," she said.
Grace, who lost Rp 120 million (US$12,600) due to the fire, bought dozens of clothes items at Tanah Abang Market to sell in front of the Senen Market on Wednesday.
Fire damaged 250 kiosks and 80 stalls belonging to sidewalk vendors at Blok VI last Thursday morning.
No injuries were reported but the incident was estimated to have caused a total of Rp 3.5 billion in financial loss.
Pasar Jaya director Djangga Lubis told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday said the inconvenience caused and traffic congestion were inevitable because the company and representatives of vendors had decided to repair the building instead of moving it to a new site.
"The vendors can still sell goods they saved from the fire in front of the building, but they have to leave it when we begin repairs," he said, adding that reconstruction would take around three weeks.
He said the cost of kiosk repairs would be Pasar Jaya's responsibility, but the company would welcome efforts from vendors to help clear the debris to speed up the repair process.
The fire agency recorded that from January there were 130 fire incidents in the city's five municipalities, killing seven and injuring two dozen residents.
On Thursday, fire also burnt down the Swallow sandal factory in Kalideres, West Jakarta, claiming the lives of four workers.
As of Wednesday, police had not completed the investigation into the cause of the blaze as fire continued at the site due to the presence of flammable chemicals there.
Amid uncertainty about the factory's future, workers requested their employer, PT Sinar Jaya Prakarsa, to make them redundant and give them a redundancy package.
Nasir, 28, who has been working for seven years at the factory, said Swallow management had offered Wednesday a temporary dismissal plan for its permanent workers in exchange of 50 percent of their monthly salary.
Another employee, who refused to mention his name said, "Since the company does not know whether they will rebuild the factory, it is better to give, for example, a three-month redundancy payment so we can start afresh".
The company currently employs 1,175 workers, more than a half are outsourced.
Despite the fire department's assessment of the substandard fire safety program at the Swallow factory, the police, insisted that they would only begin a forensic investigation once the site was "completely safe".
"We will begin questioning if our investigation finds it necessary," Kalideres Police chief detective Second. Insp. Herru S.Y., who is leading the investigation, said.
