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First kampung 'deret' inaugurated
Brand new world: Children play in the yard of a kampung deret (village of row houses) in Petogogan, South Jakarta, while their parents look on
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Brand new world: Children play in the yard of a kampung deret (village of row houses) in Petogogan, South Jakarta, while their parents look on. Residents conveyed their thanks to the city administration after Governor Joko âJokowiâ Widodo officially opened the new houses on Thursday. (JP/Nadia Sarasati) (village of row houses) in Petogogan, South Jakarta, while their parents look on. Residents conveyed their thanks to the city administration after Governor Joko âJokowiâ Widodo officially opened the new houses on Thursday. (JP/Nadia Sarasati)
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span class="inline inline-none">Brand new world: Children play in the yard of a kampung deret (village of row houses) in Petogogan, South Jakarta, while their parents look on. Residents conveyed their thanks to the city administration after Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo officially opened the new houses on Thursday. (JP/Nadia Sarasati)
Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo on Thursday inaugurated a so-called kampung deret (village of row houses) in Petogogan, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, the first of its kind to be developed in the capital.
The Petogogan kampung deret is in one of 26 slum neighborhoods in Jakarta that were rebuilt and redeveloped last year by the city administration to improve residents' quality of life.
A community unit (RW) head in the area, Suroyo, said that the completion of the kampung deret 'was like a dream come true'.
'We have dreamt of a decent and green neighborhood for a very long time. Now we have achieved it, which was also because of the participation of the Karang Taruna [neighborhood youth organization], whose members helped us design the houses in a contest,' he said.
'In the name of the residents, I want to thank the South Jakarta mayor, the housing agency head and the governor for making this happen,' Suroyo added.
Jokowi also expressed his contentment over the completion of the houses, the construction of which kicked off in October last year.
'When I first came to this neighborhood one-and-a-half years ago, I thought that it must be hard for the residents to breathe. But now this is the best kampung deret, even compared to other locations,' Jokowi said during a speech to officially open the area.
The governor also encouraged the residents to maintain the neighborhood.
'Many of the residents previously lived in the neighborhood without proper ownership documents. We have assisted you to obtain [documents] so you better not sell the houses. You can't sell them,' he said.
During the ceremony, the governor symbolically handed over a house key and building use agreements to the residents.
Despite the success of the houses' construction, a problem remains.
Iim Rohima, a resident, said that the houses do not have drying racks.
'We are not allowed to dry our laundry in the yard, yet the [house] design does not provide us proper space ' be it on the rooftop or at the back of the house ' to dry laundry,' Iim said.
The city administration aims to build more kampung deret in 74 locations across the capital, 15 of which are located in South Jakarta, this year alone. The number will quadruple next year.
In 2013, the city administration spent Rp 31 billion (US$2.74 million) to rebuild 602 houses in slum neighborhoods in Jakarta. The project also included the reconstruction of water treatment facilities and the installation of fire hydrants.
