Early morning on Jl. Gunung Sahari 7A in Central Jakarta, far from the hustle and bustle of busy main roads, dozens of pet shop owners prepare to open up their modest 4-square-meter kiosks.

There were 85 kiosks constructed neatly along Gunung Sahari 7A, all painted blue. The dozens of pet shops sell various domestic animals, from freshwater fish and birds to turtles and iguanas. The street is now better known as Pasar Hewan, or the Pet Market.

The pet shops were those that were relocated from the banks of the Ciliwung River on Jl. Kartini in Central Jakarta. For decades, Jl. Kartini was known as one of the go-to places for pet lovers. However, the city administration last November relocated the vendors to Gunung Sahari 7A to normalize the Ciliwung'€™s
surroundings.

Although significantly less crowded with customers than Jl. Kartini, the pet shop owners said they could accept the situation after the relocation. One kiosk owner, 37-year-old Nurdin, said that despite the fewer customers, he felt much safer selling in Gunung Sahari.

'€œI feel more secure selling here because I no longer feel anxious that I could get evicted by the city administration,'€ Nurdin said recently while he was opening up his shop.

Nurdin, who has been selling freshwater fish for 12 years, went on to say that on Jl. Kartini, not only were the vendors required to pay daily rent, but several individuals also collected illegal levies. In his kiosk, Nurdin sold koi and manfish, with price tags of Rp 10,000 (78 US cents) to Rp 300,000. Since relocation, he said, his income has decreased roughly 50 percent.

'€œMany customers do not know that we were relocated here, but more customers have dropped by since Pak Ahok came here two weeks ago,'€ Nurdin said, referring to Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama who visited Gunung Sahari 7A recently to officially open the Pet Market and introduce the auto debit rent
payment system.

The vendors in the Gunung Sahari Pet Market were among the first in Jakarta to use the auto debit rent payment system. The vendors are required to open an account with city-owned lender Bank DKI and the city would automatically charge Rp 90,000 a month to their bank accounts for rent.

Although most of the vendors initially refused the new system, many of them have adapted and are beginning to see some advantages. For example, one vendor, 26-year-old Dul, said that it was much easier and safer to pay through auto debit.

'€œThis way I know exactly when to pay and whom to pay. I can also save my money in the bank account instead of hiding cash in my house,'€ said Dul, who inherited the kiosk from his now elderly father, who sold on Jl. Kartini for 20 years.

Dul, who sells local iguanas and turtles, sold the pets at prices ranging from Rp 15,000 to a whopping Rp 60 million. He said that he sent text messages to all his customers to inform them that the kiosks had been relocated.

One visitor, Yoana Wijaya, who drove her car from her home in North Jakarta, said that she has been a loyal customer of the vendors for five years. '€œThis location is much better for the pet shops because I can easily find a parking spot. Jl. Kartini is a busy road and visitors could hardly park their vehicles. Besides, Gunung Sahari isn'€™t far from Jl. Kartini, so I don'€™t mind.'€

Ahok has launched a program to manage thousands of the city'€™s street vendors to circumvent the existence of street lords who usually managed street territories and collected rents from the vendors.

The governor said the city would give the vendors places to open businesses, but they would pay rent to the city administration for security and sanitation and he would be their '€œgodfather'€

Popular

Indonesia sends first direct shipment of frozen durian to China

MR. D.I.Y Indonesia marks 1,200th store opening as the fastest expanding retailer

Southern Indonesia brace for floods, extreme weather as cyclone threat looms