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mid a disruption of clean water service to the State Palace due to a collapsed dam, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s family members and relatives gathered at the President’s residence in Cikeas, West Java, on Thursday.

The President held a private gathering with his family at his residence to celebrate Idul Fitri, which was closed to the press, Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said.

Julian said moving the celebration to Cikeas was unrelated to the water service disruption. “I haven’t received any reports regarding the disruption of clean water services,” he said.

A dam in Kalimalang, East Jakarta, which supplies water to Jakarta’s clean water installations, collapsed on Wednesday evening, forcing private water company PT PAM Lyonnaise (Palyja) to deploy 11 water tank trucks to the State Palace.

tempointeraktif.com reported that water stopped running at the palace on Thursday morning. A report by kompas.com said that dozens of cars, allegedly belonging to Yudhoyono’s family members, left the palace for Cikeas at 11:30 a.m., about one hour after a gathering ceremony.

On Wednesday, the President held an Idul Fitri open house with his wife and children at the State Palace.

Among the hundreds of citizens at the open house was a 32-year-old blind housewife named Soimah, who said she regretted not saying anything when she shook hands with the President.

Before leaving her house in Cipayung, East Jakarta, Soimah, accompanied by her blind husband and two children, practiced what she would say to the President: “Pak SBY, help me, please.”

She was still rehearsing just minutes before setting foot in the air-conditioned room at the palace, where Yudhoyono, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and their two children, Agus Harimurti and Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro — all wearing green batik — greeted the well-wishers.

“I don’t know why I was speechless when Pak SBY shook my hand,” she told The Jakarta Post, referring to Yudhoyono. Wearing sandals — typically banned from the palace — Soimah said it was getting harder to earn a living to support her two children, now in elementary school.

A widower, Laode Muhammad, who made his first visit to the palace, was also baffled as to why he failed to express his long-memorized grievances to the President.

“I really hoped to say something to the President so the government would pay serious attention to disabled people. We want jobs, not to beg for money,” Laode, who has been disabled since birth, said.

The President held his annual open house so the public could share Idul Fitri wishes with him and his family. The palace reported some 3,500 attended, of which approximately 550 were disabled. Last year, a blind man died in a stampede while attending the open house at the palace.

Hundreds of others who had waited several hours at Monas Park, however, were denied access to the palace due to time restrictions.

The well-wishers were gathered at Monas before being transported to the palace to avoid last year’s open house tragedy, when Joni Malela, a blind man, died after thousands of people fought to get into the palace.

All the well-wishers received a box of snacks. “The money was only given to disabled people,” media bureau head DJ Nahrowi said, declining to specify the amount.