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Jakarta starts demolitions at Luar Batang for maritime area revitalization
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People pray when city officials with heavy equipment arrived to tear down their houses in the Luar Batang area in North Jakarta on Monday. The city administration plans to demolish hundreds of illegal buildings in the Pasar Ikan area as part of a 'revitalization' project involving Luar Batang, Sunda Kelapa and the Maritime Museum. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he Jakarta administration started using heavy equipment to tear down hundreds of illegal buildings in the Luar Batang area of Pasar Ikan in North Jakarta on Monday as residents ended their protest and obeyed city orders to pack their belongings and move out to make way for the capital's 'revitalization' plans.
The city administration, backed by more than 4,000 city officers, Jakarta Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) demolished about 500 buildings starting Monday morning using 11 pieces of heavy equipment.
Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama had said that the clearance of illegal settlements in the area was needed for the city to start installing sheetpiles along the North Jakarta rivers around Pasar Ikan to prevent flooding during regular high tides.
The city fears Pasar Ikan, including Luar Batang and the Akuarium areas, will be drowned if buildings on the shoreline hamper water flow.
The governor had also announced plans to beautify the historic Luar Batang Mosque near the cleared area. The mosque is often visited by hundreds of pilgrims from across the country as it hosts the tomb of prominent cleric Al Habib Husein bin Abubakar bin Abdillah, who died in 1756.
The city aims to make a wide open space called a plaza, or public square, where Jakarta's maritime tourist attractions would all be connected. The visitors would be able to visit the mosque, the Maritime Museum and also the famous Sunda Kelapa Port while walking through the managed open space, Maritime Museum chief Husnizon Nizar said.
The administration would also accommodate traditional vendors who could open their business in the area, he added.
Amid the work of the heavy equipment and the thousands of officers standing guard, some residents who initially refused to be evicted were packing their belongings to leave their houses.
Hendri, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years with his parents, pondered where would he move while he packed.
Hendri said he was hesitant to move into one of the low-cost apartments provided by the administration, saying the small space would not accommodate his family and all their belongings.
He also expressed concern about the monthly rent that he must pay with what he earned from his job as a fish vendor.
Although the city administration claimed it had informed residents about the plans to evict them, Hendri said he had heard little about it.
"Once I heard this place will not be cleared. Then I got the warning letter to leave this house. It was unclear," he said.
The clearance was initially disrupted by a clash between the residents and police as it started in the morning.
When the chaos got worse, police shot tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Police personnel also detained several people they suspected to be the provocators of the protests. (rin)
