TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of public gas station across the capital were stormed by hordes of customers looking to stockpile fuels almost immediately after the fuel subsidy cuts were announced.
Queues could be seen at several gas stations across Jakarta, including gas station 3411104 on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, West Jakarta. The long queues - comprising of motorcycles and cars - extends to the road, which causes massive traffic jams right around the vicinity of the gas station.
Tommy, the on-duty supervisor at Hayam Wuruk gas station, said that his team had already foresaw and thus anticipated the crowds by coordinating with the local district police, especially after demands surged by more than 50 percent following the announcement of the fuel price hike.
"We're assisted by the Taman Sari District Police, and around 10 police personnels are standing guard near the queues, while three of our own security officers are in charge of keeping the queues in order," said Tommy in Jakarta on Monday, November 17, 2014.
Apart from anticipating a possible riot due to the price hikes, police were also stationed to keep out those customers who attempted to purchase more than the allowed limit. "We are no longer serving those customers who come with jerry-cans. We can only fill up fuel tanks of vehicles, which usually is around 70 litres for cars, or Rp 100,000 for motorcycles," said Tommy.
No closure of gas stations have been planned for Tuesday, because gas stations have been advised to fill up their reserves to anticipate increasing demands.
ANTARANEWS