Kalijodo to be cleared on Feb. 29

JAKARTA. The Jakarta administration is gearing up to clear Kalijodo, one of Southeast Asia’s oldest red-light districts, which stretches between the West Flood Canal (BKB) and the Krendang River in North and West Jakarta.

The eviction, slated for Feb. 29, is likely to affect the lives of more than 3,000 Kalijodo residents. Around 200 residents staged a protest in front of City Hall on Friday against the eviction plan. “We want justice. Where is Ahok’s responsibility? We are not animals,” said Lusi, one of the residents’ representatives.

City secretary Saefullah said during a coordination meeting with agencies and working units that he had told all officials involved in the eviction program to plan well in order that the whole process would run smoothly.

Saefullah said he had instructed the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) to ensure that all the 250 semi permanent and 300 permanent buildings in Kalijodo were empty during the demolition.

The city, he said, would deploy 15 excavators to ensure that the demolition of buildings on the 1.6-hectare site could all be done on Feb. 29.

He added that all buildings with the exception of a mosque should be destroyed that day. “This includes an 800-square-meter vermicelli factory whose right to build [HGB] certificate contravenes the Spatial Planning bylaw,” he said.

Saefullah said that Satpol PP personnel would check all houses one by one in order to make sure that all the occupants and their furniture had been relocated.

He said trucks and buses would be deployed to take any residents still in the area on eviction day, and their belongings, to low-cost apartments (rusunawa).

Saefullah said that other officers would also ensure that electricity had been shut off. “Ambulances and medics will also stand by for any emergency situation,” he said.

He added that he had instructed the Legal Affairs Bureau to send letters to the Ombudsman and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to assist the city administration in executing the plan.

The secretary also instructed the Parks and Cemeteries Agency to immediately build parks on the cleared land. “The land will be cleared on Feb. 29 and March 1, the agency can start to work the next day,” he said, adding that the Water Management Agency could also start its job of dredging and sheet-piling the Krendang River.

The decision to shut down Kalijodo reemerged following a fatal drunk-driving accident earlier this month that left four people dead. The driver reportedly admitted to the police that he and his friends had been drinking in Kalijodo prior to the crash.

After issuing the first warrant of eviction this week, the city plans to issue the second one on Monday and the third on Feb. 28, a day before the planned eviction.

Satpol PP head Kukuh Hadisantoso said he was preparing to deploy 2,500 personnel. “Each municipality will deploy 500 personnel,” he said, adding that around 100 officers would be equipped with riot equipment.

Parks and Cemeteries Agency head Ratna Dyah said she was currently finalizing the design of the park in Kalijodo.

“The park will have a green area, seating, a jogging track, children’s playground and a bike lane,” she said.

Housing and Administration Buildings Agency head Ika Pudji Lestari said her agency had prepared 400 rusunawa units in Marunda, North Jakarta, and Pulo Gebang, East Jakarta.

“Forty one out of 86 families in West Jakarta have taken part in the lottery for the units,” she said.

Ika said that she was still gathering data on families with Jakarta IDs in North Jakarta. “North Jakarta has 126 buildings. So, 400 units will be enough,” she said.

Regarding the funding for the eviction, Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Tuty Kusumawati said it would come from programs related to regulating and re-greening public spaces. “We can allocate the funds from general programs. For example, the Ciliwung River normalization funds can also be used for the eviction,” she said. (Corry Elyda)