COVID-19 Is Not Over Yet, The Central Sulawesi Provincial Government Again Eliminates The Free Eid Al-Fitr Homecoming Program

Illustration - A number of bus fleets carrying homecoming travelers from the Free Homecoming Program depart (ANTARA)

PALU - The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of Central Sulawesi (Sulteng) has canceled the free Eid homecoming program this year.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the main reason why the Central Sulawesi Provincial Government was forced to cancel the free homecoming program," said Head of Land Transportation at the Central Sulawesi Transportation Agency, Sumarno, in Palu City, Antara, Wednesday, April 20.

According to him, free homecoming is a routine activity that is carried out every year before Eid. Finally, the Central Sulawesi Provincial Government through the Transportation Service (Dishub) of Central Sulawesi Province held a free homecoming in 2019.

"The preparation of the program budget at the Transportation Agency of Central Sulawesi Province in 2022 will be carried out in 2021. At that time, it was predicted that COVID-19 cases during Ramadan and Eid in 2022 were still quite high, so the free homecoming program was temporarily postponed," he said.

However, his party does not prohibit parties from conducting free homecoming using the Otobus Company (PO) buses in all regions in Central Sulawesi Province with the provision that the vehicle that will transport the homecomers must be roadworthy.

"Officers will monitor the readiness of each bus fleet belonging to the PO that will be used to transport travelers. Equally important is the driver must be healthy and fit and know the terrain in which to take homecomers," he said.

Sumarno predicts that the peak of the homecoming flow in Central Sulawesi will occur on D-3 Eid or to be precise on April 28. Based on the survey results from the Central Sulawesi Transportation Agency, 70 percent of travelers in Central Sulawesi use motorbikes.

"Most travelers go to South Sulawesi Province (South Sulawesi) and Banggai Regency, Central Sulawesi Province. Considering that most of the people who go home come from those two areas," he added.