Sanitation raid gets mixed response
Written by Meenaa on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Sanitation raid gets mixed response
East Jakarta residents gave mixed responses to the municipality’s sanitation operation, where 140 officers raided a bus terminal and fined people on the spot for littering.
Some said they welcomed the undertaking, but others said the three-day operation seemed like a token effort.
“Operations like this could improve people’s awareness of cleanliness and should be conducted more often or for longer,” said Bayu, a customer at Rawamangun terminal. He admitted to occasionally littering on the street, but he said he supported the measure because it would make the city cleaner.
Sagera, a sweeper at the terminal, also gave a positive response.
“It was nice to see the terminal look cleaner for once. The operation helped me clean the terminal,” he said.
The East Jakarta municipality, through its sanitation agency, conducted the sanitation operation early this month at Rawamangun bus terminal.
The first day of the operation netted as many as 30 people, who were caught littering at the terminal. They were fined Rp 20,000 (US$1.60) to Rp 50,000 for violating a Criminal Code article on petty crime.
The operation surprised many people including Iqbal, a university student.
“I was just throwing out my cigarette butt when suddenly I had my hand yanked by an officer,” Iqbal was quoted as saying by beritajakarta.com.
“I had to go to a class, but then I had to wait for the trial.”
After the operation ended, however, it was business as usual at Rawamangun. When The Jakarta Post visited the terminal, people were seen littering.
“The operation is just a way for the city officials to make a name for themselves,” resident Arif said while waiting at the terminal.
The municipal administration is not serious about combating littering, Arif said, because the operation was too short and the fines were relatively small.
“The sanitation agency officials usually litter, too. They should be put on trial if they get caught,” he added.
East Jakarta municipality spokesman, Manson, said the short duration of the operation was due to a lack of funds.
“The operation depends on the city budget, that’s why we can’t do it regularly,” he said.
The operation involved some 140 officers from the city public order unit, East Jakarta Sanitation Agency, East Jakarta Police, East Jakarta District Court and East Jakarta Transportation Agency.
Mahduyun, an officer at the terminal, said more Jakarta residents were arrested during the operation than visitors from outside the city.
“City residents are the ones who litter more judging from the number of Jakarta ID cards we saw during the operation,” he said.
Initially, he said, the operation was meant to give information on city sanitation to visitors, but instead officials discovered that local residents littered the most. (fmb)
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 11/19/2008 11:02 AM | City
