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Street vendors remain issue in Tanah Abang despite Skybridge completion
Despite the completion of the Skybridge and its opening for business, street vendors continue to occupy the sidewalks along Jl. Jatibaru Raya.
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A street vendor working near the Tanah Abang Skybridge operates his business on a sidewalk along Jl. Jati Baru Raya in Central Jakarta on Tuesday. The bridge is open to vendors and also functions as a footbridge that connects Tanah Abang Market with a train station and bus stop. (The Jakarta Post/P.J. Leo)
T
he city administration has repeatedly claimed that the Tanah Abang Skybridge would solve pressing issues around the noted textile market in Central Jakarta, serving as an answer to managing street vendors and traffic in the area.
However, despite the completion of the Skybridge and its opening for business, street vendors continue to occupy the sidewalks along Jl. Jatibaru Raya.
Local resident Warsinah, 46, is one such vendor. Selling instant drinks and snacks on a corner of Jl. Jatibaru Raya, she operates her stall in the mornings until 8 p.m. She initially hoped to be allocated a kiosk on the Skybridge after registering with the Tanah Abang district office when construction was under way.
“I registered for one but no response came. I didn’t get a booth so I remained here,” Warsinah told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Having worked as a street vendor since 1991, Warsinah has relocated several times to find a location that was unlikely to be raided by Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers, before eventually finding a fixed spot in 2001 in front of a staple food warehouse near the market.
Like many street vendors in the area, Warsinah was given the right to use a kiosk rent-free for six months at Tanah Abang Market's Blok G, which opened in 2012 as a hawker center to house street vendors.
“For two years it was crowded, but it became deserted in the following years,” Warsinah said, adding that she decided to return to the street despite the risk of raids and patrols by Satpol PP officers.
