trafic jam

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Slum Areas and the Image of the Railway State Company

When you have a chance traveling by train, just after leaving the Kota (City) or Senen stations, you will see slums at the sides of the railway's tracks.  The efforts to cope with the slums in Jakarta has by far given no result, especially when facing the slums within the areas of  PT. Kereta Api Indonesia, the railway state-owned company.

The slums certainly degenerate the city living condition. The occupants construct illegally simple houses made of woods or sometimes plastic materials, without sanitation and no legal electricity. They can stay there persistently because of the indifference and careless of the station authority for allowing such slums and in some degree the electricity officials for the continuous supply of illegal electric power. This situation can no longer be tolerated, especially when it involves the "collaboration" between the slum occupants and the company's security officers. 

The occupants mostly come from outside Jakarta,  the people who are seeking for opportunities to earn money as sidewalk traders and such kinds or collecting waste articles. Most occupants are illegal residents who don’t have any city identity cards. Some of them live almost permanently and some others are seasonally such as farm-laborers who come to Jakarta only temporarily after rice cultivation and stay there until the harvesting time. 

Many efforts to remove the slum shelters from the public area have been launched several times but without result. The occupants always come back within a couple days after the eviction and rebuild their shelters without facing any difficulty.  

The banning of the slums in Jakarta and especially along the railway tracks is urgently needed. It is not the question of the social problem of poverty that the government tolerates such indecent and irresponsible way of living. There are many poor who do not want to live in such a condition because of their honor and dignity. It is more on the question of willingness and determination of the related parties’ concern to solve the problem once for all.

According to the official estimation, it requires at least two years to complete the program relocating people living along the railway tracks. To carry out the program, the central government has allocated the fund around Rp 2 trillion in the period of 2010 to 2012. The fund will be spent for the construction of rail fences, tree planting along the railway tracks and relocating the illegal occupants of the area.

The government should have the political will and strong determination to clear the slum areas with comprehensive planning and target. The same attitude should be also adopted by the management of PT. Kereta Api Indonesia. The management should put stress more on the tidiness of the area surrounding the station and railway tracks, on safety and the safeguard of the state properties. 

The management must demonstrate their attitude towards the safety by strongly forbidding the passengers to ride on the roof of the train coach which is by any standard cannot be tolerated any longer. The train drivers who have high responsibility on bringing such valuable assets and the safety of so many passengers should be paid more attention to their remuneration and welfare albeit their category as blue-collar workers. Many accidents happen in the form of trains collisions and the recent Rangkasbitung incident on October 11, 2010, where so many train coaches burnt heavily indicate that something wrong happens within  PT. Kereta Api management.

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