TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The South Jakarta administration is demolishing 59 houses on Jl. Raya Fatmawati through to Jl. Abdul Majid in South Jakarta on Wednesday, September 3, 2014. The demolitions were ordered in order to accommodate the ongoing construction of the mass rapid transit (MRT) line that will cross the area. “Support pillars will be put in place in this area,” said the chief of Jakarta’s Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) Kukuh Hadi Santoso.
Around 150 joint personnel from Satpol PP and other related agencies are deployed to secure the demolition site. Kukuh said that the demolition would last throughout the day. “We plan to finish clearing the site by the end of the day,” he said at the demolition site.
Out of the 59 buildings that are to be demolished, eight have already been demolished by their owners. The rest will be demolished by on-site officials. “We have warned them to vacate the premises since 2011,” said Kukuh.
Cilandak’s subdistrict chief Dhany Sukma said that the residents of the demolished buildings had been compensated by the government, and that notices were handed out to the residents as early as 2011. “We began distributing the compensations in 2012,” he said.
According to his observations, the residents were cooperative and did not resist when the officers came to start the demolition. “Some did ask for some more time to relocate, but that’s all,” said Dhany.
NINIS CHAIRUNNISA
