Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Hundreds of fishermen living on the banks of Angke River in North Jakarta have decided to stay put despite an eviction notice from the North Jakarta administration, and are questioning the city administration's policy of allowing two luxury housing complexes to be built on a nearby water catchment area.
"As fishermen, we have to live on the riverbanks or the coast because we have boats to work with," Kajidin, one of the fishermen who has lived in the area for 20 years, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
"We don't mind being ordered to move by the administration. We would be quite happy to if they could provide us with a decent place to live. But don't kick us out." Kajidin said there were talks a few months ago by district and subdistrict officials about moving them to low-rent apartments in Marunda, a coastal area near Bekasi.
"Until now, we haven't heard any progress on the plan. I just heard that the administration has not even cleared the land for the apartments," he said.
The fishermen said they would willingly move to a place determined by the administration as long as it was on the coast. "Moving us away from the water would kill us," Kajidin said.
Around 2,000 families along the riverbanks received final notice from the municipality on Saturday warning them to vacate the area within 72 hours.
The final notice, signed by North Jakarta Mayor Effendi Anas and dated October 11, says that the reason for the eviction was based on a previous warning by the head of Penjaringan district. It also says that the eviction is part of the administration's efforts to preserve Jakarta's green areas.
The land occupied by the fishermen belongs to the Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Project.
"If the reason is green area preservation, the administration should also demolish the big apartment block built on the very same riverbank," said fisherman Rijan, referring to Muara Indah Pluit Townhouse on Jl. Pluit Karang Barat, Pluit, North Jakarta.
The city bylaw stipulates that a building should be at least 50 meters from the edge of a river. The fishermen questioned the administration's policy of allowing the construction of luxury housing complexes Pantai Indah Kapuk west of their homes and Pantai Mutiara to the east.
"We were already here when Pantai Mutiara was built. We witnessed the process. They reclaimed the beach there. Why does the administration always blame us for the big floods that hit Jakarta?" Kajidin said.
Built in a water catchment where a mangrove forest used to stand in the 1990s, Pantai Indah Kapuk was blamed for flooding in surrounding areas and on the toll road connecting the city to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport during major flooding that hit the capital last year.
Governor Sutiyoso admitted his administration's failure to anticipate the floods and agreed to demolish a golf course in the complex and turn it into a reservoir to control flooding.
The fishermen said they had tried several times to apply for land deeds but to no avail.
"The administration officers ping-ponged us from one person to the next. Maybe the law is made only to serve the rich," Kajidin said.
The fishing community, united in the Traditional Fishermen Union (SNT), staged a rally at City Hall last week to ask that their homes not be demolished. They will attempt to meet the mayor on Monday.