2 Days Before Groundbreaking Of The Heritage Flag Park, 50 Barito Market Traders Still Refused To Be Relocated

JAKARTA - South Jakarta Mayor Muhammad Anwar said that until now there are still around 50 Barito Animal Market traders who have remained in their stalls and are not ready to be relocated.

"There are around 50 traders who still survive, more than a total of 118. There are about 29 empty kiosks," said Anwar at DKI Jakarta City Hall, Wednesday, August 6.

Meanwhile, the DKI Provincial Government will begin to groundbreaking the construction of the Heritage Flag Park which connects Langsat Park, Ayodya Park, and Leuser Park in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

As an official who was given responsibility by the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Pramono Anung, to relocate, Anwar admitted that his party was still taking a persuasive approach so that traders were finally willing to move.

"We are persuasive. The governor wants to approach him well, there is no need to use repressive methods," said Anwar.

Moreover, when the groundbreaking began, Anwar emphasized that the location of the ceremony and the beginning of the construction had not yet intersect directly with the Barito Market traders.

"If the traders will still exist, we will groundbreaking not disturb the environment. Which side of the groundbreaking is the merchant. It doesn't matter," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the DKI Jakarta Industry, Trade, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Elisabeth Ratu Rante Allo, revealed that his party offered a number of promises to traders of Pasar Barito to be willing to be relocated.

Among them, traders will be temporarily moved to 10 markets managed by Perumda Pasar Jaya and released from choosing relocation locations according to their convenience. In addition, traders also received a three-month discount on kiosk rentals at the relocation site.

"These steps are taken so that the structuring process does not only side with the interests of urban spatial planning, but also ensures the business continuity of the traders," Ratu told reporters.

As long as traders sell in temporary locations, the DKI Provincial Government will prepare the Fauna Jakarta Center in Lenteng Agung which is predicted to be a center for healthy, educational, and modern pet trade.

"Further traders will be facilitated to open a business at the Fauna Jakarta Center which is built on an area of approximately 7,000 square meters in the Lenteng Agung area," said Ratu.

Later, the Fauna Jakarta Center will become a hygienic and environmentally friendly modern animal market, accompanied by animal and conservation education rides, educational tourist destinations that combine entertainment and environmental literacy, as well as an organized pet MSME zone.

"Sentra Fauna Jakarta is expected not only to be a place for transactions, but also a fun learning and recreation room for families and animal lovers," explained Ratu.