Yogyakarta Dismantles Kilometer Zero Point Barriers

PHOTO VIA ANTARA

YOGYAKARTA - The Yogyakarta City Government has dismantled the guardrail that surrounds the pedestrians on the east side of the Yogyakarta Kilometer Zero Point or in front of the Serangan Oemoem Plaza on March 1, as well as testing the potential for crowds in the area.

"This demolition is based on the request of a number of community groups because Yogyakarta is currently at PPKM Level 2," said Yogyakarta Deputy Mayor Heroe Poerwadi, quoted by Antara, Thursday, October 28.

According to him, the demolition of the guardrail, which had been installed for a long time, had been communicated to the Yogyakarta City Forkopimda elements.

However, Heroe reminded that the demolition of the pedestrian guardrail on the east side of the Kilometer Zero Point is dynamic or adjusts to the development of COVID-19 cases in the city of Yogyakarta.

"At the same time, we want to do a trial. Will the dismantling of the guardrail cause a crowd or not and how the health protocols are implemented by tourists in the location," he said.

Therefore, continued Heroe, the guardrail that was dismantled was only on the east side of the pedestrian area, while the west side of the pedestrian crossing was still installed.

"If everything is immediately dismantled, it will seem as if the transmission of COVID-19 has disappeared. The virus is still there, so vigilance must still be prioritized," he said.

He confirmed that he would deploy officers to carry out routine patrols in the area which is inseparable from the Malioboro area. "Security is still carried out 24 hours a day. If there is a crowd, it will be immediately dispersed," he said.

The dismantling of the guardrail, which has been installed since late last year, is part of the tourist arrangement in the Malioboro area.

The Yogyakarta City Government plans to limit the duration of visiting Malioboro, which is a maximum of two hours and a maximum of three hours for tourism bus parking as well as limiting the number of tourists in each zone.