1,500 Buildings on Apuran Riverbank Demolished
Reported by TP Moan Simanjuntak | Translated by Nugroho Adibrata
The demolition of about 1,500 illegal buildings stood atop the Apuran Riverbank, Kapuk and Kedaung Urban Villages, Cengkareng Sub-District, West Jakarta, Monday (12/22), runs smoothly without protest from the building owners who most of them have been relocated to Daan Mogot Flat.
This demolition is not an eviction. It is conducted to improve their welfare from unworthy settlement to decent housing
Led directly by West Jakarta Mayor Anas Effendi and Jakarta Rivers and Reservoirs Normalization Coordinator Heriyanto, the demolition is carried out by 3,500 joint personnel from Satpol PP, army and police who are equipped with two excavators. This effort is conducted because the river will be normalized and an inspection road to be built.
“According to the rule, a month prior to the demolition we have socialized the people whose buildings affected by the river normalization. But since they still occupied their buildings and not demolish it, we had to demolish their buildings forcibly,” stated West Jakarta Mayor Anas Effendi.
Illegal Buildings in Duri Pulo Demolished by Their OccupantsAccording to him, as many as 322 households of Kedaung Kaliangke Urban Village residents who are affected by this project have been registered to be relocated to Daan Mogot Flat.
“From that amount, 252 households have occupied the flat. The rest are waiting for the completion of the flat’s block construction,” told Effendi.
While in Kapuk Urban Village, 420 out of 550 households will be relocated to the flat. At this time, 157 of them have occupied the flat.
“This demolition is not an eviction. It is conducted to improve their welfare from unworthy settlement to decent housing. After the buildings demolished, we will directly build inspection road as wide as 7.5 meters and as long as 2.8 meters, starting from Genit Bridge, Pesing Poglar, until Cengkareng Drain River,” he uttered.
Meanwhile, Ana (45), a resident of RT 04/07 Kapuk, disclosed that she has lived on Apuran Riverbank for more than eight years. Although her house is demolished, she is still grateful because she got a new place to live in Daan Mogot Flat.
