Dozens killed as bus collides with oil tanker in Pakistan

At least 57 people, including women and children, have been killed after a bus crashed into an oil tanker in southern Pakistan. The accident led to a fiery blaze, making rescue attempts difficult.

Deutsche Welle, 11 Jan 2015

The overloaded bus was on its way to Shikarpur from Pakistan's commercial capital, Karachi. Senior police officer Rao Muhammad Anwaar said the bus "hit the oil tanker which, according to initial reports, was coming from the wrong direction."

The accident led to a fierce blaze, which was put out by the fire brigade, but not until both the bus and the tanker were completely consumed, Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune reported. Rescue workers had to cut through heavy machinery to reach the victims, it said.

A few passengers escaped by jumping out of the windows.

As many as 57 people are reported to have died in fiery crash between bus and oil tanker near Karachi, #Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/txIwP4NzoP
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) January 11, 2015

"We have received more than 57 dead bodies but the death toll may rise as most of them are completely burnt and stuck to each other," Semi Jamali, a doctor at Karachi's Jinnah hospital, told news agency Agence France Presse.

Bodies that were badly burnt would have to be identified using DNA tests, Jamali added.

The accident was the second collision within a span of three months. In November, 57 people including women and children were killed when a bus crashed into a goods truck loaded with coal.

Pakistan has a record number of fatal travel accidents, owing mainly to bad roads and reckless driving.

mg/cmk (AFP, AP)

Life in Jakarta’s Slow Lane

Jakarta Globe, Tasa Nugraza Barley & Marcel Thee | October 27, 2010

“Jakarta is hell.” Strong words from Aidil Akbar, who works as a video editor.

Aidil is not alone in expressing this sentiment. For all intents and purposes, his familiarity with Jakarta traffic should have prepared him for Monday’s gridlock.

Heavy rains coupled with the city’s notoriously chaotic street layout and backed upsewers led to extreme flooding, drawing traffic to a stand still.

To cope with the situation, some people used their smartphones to vent on micro-blogging site Twitter.

One of the night’s popular topics on the site among Indonesian users was a play on words using Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo’s nickname, Foke, and an expression used for cursing.

“There was a lot of urinating on the streets, I can tell you that,” said Mayke Wauran,a pharmacy employee, without a hint of humor in her voice.

She witnessed a fair share of pedestrians fall down while navigating floodwater snear her home in Sunter, North Jakarta.

Office worker Melisa Kurniawan and her colleagues waited until 11 p.m. to leave Ratu Plaza in Sudirman, thinking that traffic would be much better then. The situation was still bad.

Roseline Setyono, who works in the Kuningan area, said that many of her colleagues also opted to wait things out at the office because their carpool took “six hours to arrive here from Kelapa Gading.”

Amelia, who didn’t want to use her real name, summed up her frustration on Twitter: “I hope the governor is stuck in traffic, wants to go to the bathroom, has to drive alone, his gas low, his air-conditioning dead and all his cellphones are low on battery.”

Commuters were not the only ones who were affected. The gridlock also had an impact onthe business sector.

Roy Siregar, owner of steak restaurant Frenzo in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta,said that traffic hurt his business badly.

“My sales dropped by as much as 50 percent last Monday,” he said. “I assume people were stuck in their cars or offices and they couldn’t go anywhere.”

Dede Haris, who does marketing for bar and club Barcode in Kemang, South Jakarta,also blamed the traffic jam for the drop in customers.

“We had a very significant drop in the number of guests who came to our place,” hesaid.

Dede himself was also stuck in traffic.

Even though he believes that being on a motorcycle is the fastest option to getaround the city, he still spent three hours on his motorbike from Kemang toKuningan, South Jakarta. “I’m speechless, it was just crazy,” he said.

Monday’s gridlock proved to be a test that had even the sturdiest of Jakartans shaking their fists at the sky.

With the situation bound to repeat itself, here are a few survival tips on how to beatthe traffic blues, should you find yourself, once again, stuck in your vehicle for hours on end.

Have a good collection of music on hand

Music can make a three-hour drive end up feeling like, well, a two-hour drive.

“A good collection of music is a life saver. Even if it’s loud heavy metal, at least you can get the anger out of your system. A calmer collection is recommended, though,” video editor Aidil said, adding that it helped him get through histwo-and-a-half hour ordeal on Monday.

Stock upon beverages

It’s a good idea to have your favorite drinks and some snacks handy in your car incase you find yourself stuck in traffic again.

Stretch to relieve stress

Yelling at cars who are also stuck in front of yours won’t do any good. Instead, take a deep breath and try to calm down.

It is also good to do some simple and easy stretching exercises inside your car.

“You’ll be surprised to find how easy and simple moves can make you feel better,” said Budi, a fitness instructor.

Budi suggests the following exercises. With your eyes closed, put both of your arms up above your head and stretch them to the right and then to the left.

Then move your head up, down, left and right.

Try to avoid stiffness in your fingers. Starting with the right hand, gently extend the fingers back, one by one. Take them all back at the same time. Stretch out both your hands, make a fist and slowly open them up.

Don’t forget to move your legs too. While sitting, pull up your knees for a few seconds, first with the left, then the right.

Go to the office prepared

If you live far from the office, bring along items that you would normally do for a sleepover.

Try tobe on good terms with colleagues who live close to the office and wouldn’t mind taking you in for the night.

If you live near where you work, be nice and offer your colleagues a place for the night.

If you have no friends at the office, check out nearby accommodations.

“A female friend of mine walked four kilometers alone because no ojek [motorcycletaxi] was willing to go through the traffic,” office worker Melisa said, adding that she and her husband ended up letting that friend and a few others stay at their home for the night.

Familiarize yourself with your vehicle

When you’re exhausted after a long day at the office, all you want to do is go home and rest, so a nasty traffic jam can certainly pose a headache.

In your rush to get home, you may find yourself doing things, like splashing through deep puddles.

But think before you do anything that may endanger you and those around you.

There is also your vehicle to think of. “You have to make sure that your car is fit to face traffic jams that can last for hours,” car mechanic Adela said.

“You have to know how deep the puddle is before you cross over,” he said, adding that generally, the water level should be below half of your wheel height.

He said that cars mostly have their air intake channels located near the back fender, which are low enough to absorb water.

Getting water inside your car is the last thing that you want to happen. If you drive through a deep puddle and your car sucks water up, “it’s what we call a water hammer.”

“Things can get really ugly,” Adela said. “Chances are, your engine will break and you’ll end up paying a lot of money to fix it.”

He added that if you think it’s safe to go through a puddle, it’s very important to keep your car moving at a constant speed without going too fast.

Otherwise, you risk water getting into the car’s muffler. If your car stalls, you can pullover and try to dry the machine.

But if the car is severely damaged, you will have to call a tow truck.

Let your cellular phone be your savior

Make sure your phone’s battery is always fully charged. Buying a car charger for your phone may be a good idea.

You definitely don’t want to risk not being able to make an important call whenyou’re stuck in traffic.

Your phone can also be your source of entertainment while waiting.

Not only can you read articles on online news portals, but you can also check up-to-date information about the current traffic situation on Twitter accounts, such as@tmcpoldametro, @infoll and @lewatmana.

Empty street

The Jakarta Post, Antara | Fri, 09/10/2010 11:32 AM 

Few vehicles are seen passing Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, a main thoroughfare Central Jakarta which is usually congested, during the Idul Fitri holiday on Friday. Millions of Jakarta residents had left the city to go to their hometowns to celebrate the holiday. Antara/Yudhi Mahatma

Governor Fauzi not all that keen on fixing busted roads

Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 11/25/2009 2:13 PM

The old adage puts safety first, but Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo seems to think it can wait, as in the case of damaged roads.

The rainy season has traditionally been a time when motorists, and in particular motorcyclists, are warned to drive more carefully to avoid rainwater-deluged potholes.

But on Tuesday, Fauzi said his administration would not rush to repair them, adding it could wait until the advent of the dry season.

"We'll repair the damaged roads; we have the money for it," he said.

"However, we won't do it right away."

He said his administration had made its own assessments of the road conditions as well as traffic load for each road.

Fauzi also said should the administration insist on repairing the damaged roads during the rainy season, the work would be in vain.

Heavy rains coupled with increased loading only serve to hasten the damage, the governor pointed out.

However, Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) director Tulus Abadi disagreed.

"The administration can be penalized *if it fails to promptly repair damaged roads*," he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Tulus cited Article 273 of the 2009 Traffic Law, which stipulates five-year prison sentences or Rp 120 million fines for the responsible officials or institutions who fail to repair damaged roads.

Voicing similar concern, city councillor Nurmansjah Lubis said Jakarta residents could sue the administration over the poor roads.

"Filing a lawsuit is an important move as the damaged roads can lead to fatal accidents, especially to motorcyclists," Nurmansjah said.

Data from the Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center shows 20 people were killed in traffic accidents in the first three months of this year.

The TMC also notes at least 17 areas with damaged roads, including at the Jl. H. Nawi intersection near ITC Fatmawati, at the Senayan shooting range intersection in Central Jakarta, and on Jl. Simpruk Raya in West Jakarta.

Institute of Transportation Studies (Instran) director Darmaningtyas attributed the damaged roads to poor construction coupled with bad planning.

"The roads are easily damaged because they were poorly built," he pointed out.

"For instance, on a scale of one to 100 - where 100 means ideal materials mixing, asphalting and funding, what we have here is less than 50.

"*The contractors* often scale down the initial construction plan. So it's obvious why the results are far from satisfactory," Darmaningtyas added.

He said poor timing in carrying out the road repairs also played a part in the quality of the roads.

"Water is the main element in the asphalt," he said.

"But what we have here are constructors who mostly carry out the repairs during the rainy season."

The best time for road repairs in Jakarta is from May to October, during the dry season, he added.

To support a successful road renovation, Darmaningtyas said, the responsible agencies (including the public works agency) must reform its construction management.

Agency head Budi Widiantoro previously said the city had allocated a Rp 40 million budget for road maintenance for the first half of 2009, and another Rp 37 million for the second half.

"With this budget, we plan to revamp all the damaged roads this year," he said.

"However, if that's not possible, we'll continue the repairs based on the 2010 budget."

Hard day

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 03/19/2009 6:23 PM | Jakarta

Workmen repair Jl. Mayjen Suprapto in North Jakarta on Thursday. Stretches of the road are prone to flooding. JP/J.Adiguna

Crisis center says 20 areas prone to flood in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post |  Sat, 10/18/2008 9:56 AM  |  Jakarta 

The Jakarta Crisis Center has reported that as of Friday there are 20 locations in the city already witnessing a rise in water level. The condition likely to worsen as the city enters the rainy season. 

The crisis center advised the public within the area to remain alert while the city administration engaging in measures to minimize impact. 

The locations are spread evenly in four municipalities: 

• North Jakarta (Sunter Agung, Koja, Penjaringan and Rawa Badak)
  
• South Jakarta (bukit Duri, Pondok Karya and Bintaro)
  
• Central Jakarta (Petamburan, Bendungan Hilir, Kebon Melati, Karet Tengsin, Tanah Abang, Kemayoran, North Gunung Sahari and Cempaka Putih)
  
• West Jakarta (Rawa Buaya, Kapuk and Tegal Alur)
  
• East Jakarta (Cawang and Kampung Melayu)
  

The Central Jakarta administration has been moving to prepare citizens should the worst happen. 

“We have requested the citizens to dump their waste in designated places, clean the sewers, especially those in their own neighborhood. That is at least what they can do,” said Central Jakarta’s chief of public works, Agus Priyono. 

Agus also said the city administration was cooperating with local the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) in setting up medical posts and flood evacuation center in 8 districts and 44 districts. 

According to the National Development Planning Agency, although the impact of the last year’s inundations in February on the overall national economy has been limited, it inflicted a total of Rp 8.8 trillion (US$897.6 million) in losses. 

Losses in the economic activities category amounted to Rp 2.9 trillion, including Rp 2 trillion in losses suffered by 75 large-scale industrial companies operating mainly in the automotive and electronics sectors. 

In addition, losses of Rp 742.6 billion were suffered by 560 small and medium enterprises in the textiles sector, and 2,100 in the furniture sector, while Rp 46.5 billion in losses were suffered by more than 16,000 street vendors, and Rp 62 billion by vendors in 40 traditional markets. 

Meanwhile, the floods damaged Rp 48.8 billion-worth of community facilities, consisting of more than 200 schools, over 30 medical centers and a number of religious facilities. On top of that, Rp 66.9 billion in damage was caused to other facilities. (and)

Government targets 2009 to complete repairs on Indonesia's road network

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan | Tue, 03/25/2008 11:20 AM

The central government has announced it plans to complete road repairs by 2009, in response to a national public outcry on the poor condition of roads.

National Development Planning Board deputy head, Max H. Pohan, said good infrastructure was vital for economic growth and the poor condition of roads could not be ignored for too long.

"The government has set 2009 as a target for completing all road repairs. We will complete the roadwork in stages in every province by prioritizing roads that lead to production centers," Max told the media Monday, after opening the 2008 North Sumatra Development and Planning Conference.

Max said North Sumatra was one of the provinces where the government would focus its roadwork project because of its role as a leader in global competition, especially since the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community.

North Sumatra Development Planning Board head, R.E. Nainggolan, said the central government would concentrate on repairing the province's east coast highway this year.

Nainggolan praised the government's efforts in focusing on the east coast highway but said it was inadequate given the extent of damaged roads in the province.

"Pretty much the entire road system in North Sumatra is in poor shape. This is likely to have a negative impact on the improvement of people's living standards," said Nainggolan.

He said, according to current data, almost 20 percent of the 2,098 kilometer national road network in the province was in poor condition, while 30 percent of the total 2,752 kilometers of provincial roads and 47 percent of the total 27,177 kilometers of regency and city roads were damaged.

Nainggolan said his office would pay close attention to infrastructure issues during the conference.

He said most, if not all, of the regional leaders in North Sumatra had voiced their concern about impeded economic growth because of the inferior condition of infrastructure.

"Many investors are reluctant to do business because of poor infrastructure in the province. This is a setback for us, but what else can we say?" Nainggolan said.

"We don't have sufficient means to restore the damaged infrastructure."

Jakarta's road repairs to start next week, says city agency

Mustaqim Adamrah , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 03/12/2008 1:35 AM

The city public works agency said Tuesday it would start fixing damaged roads in Jakarta permanently next week.

Agency head Wisnu Subagya Yusuf said, "It will be safer to repair damaged roads in the third week of March when the rainy season is about to be over and rainfall starts to drop, based on the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency's forecast," he said at City Hall.

"It will be a waste to repair damaged roads while it's still raining."

Heavy rains and poor drainage have caused water to sit in large pools which, coupled with the city's heavy traffic, have corroded street surfaces.

For several weeks, motorists have been forced to maneuver around potholes on many of the city's streets.

The city police's Traffic Management Center recorded 129 damaged spots throughout the city on March 9.

From Jan. 1 to Mar. 9 the center recorded 39 accidents related to damaged roads.

The accidents caused nine deaths, 27 casualties and slower traffic jams, the center said Monday.

Damaged roads have also hurt the Indonesian economy, a government report said.

Up to 60 percent of the country's exports and imports have been slowed because of damaged roads leading to Tanjung Priok port.

According to Wisnu, damaged roads accounted for 1.06 percent of a total of 39 million square meters of Jakarta's roads by the end of December last year.

"However, the figure rebounded to 1.71 percent in early February due to heavy rain that peaked on Feb. 1 and 2 after dropping to 0.71 percent by the end of January due to the agency's work," Wisnu said.

"Road structures become more fragile when rain falls, creating pools," he said.

"All we can do at the moment is swift repairs by patching potholes. It's a move towards zero potholes."

The agency, he said, had patched 1,940 square meters of potholes created along busway lanes and 13,771 square meters of potholes along other roads.

Wisnu said the agency would have a total of Rp 263 billion this year to repair roads throughout the capital.

But he said the city ideally needed approximately Rp 280 billion on an annual basis to maintain all Jakarta's roads.

"As a consequence of a limited budget this year, we'll buy local raw materials, instead of importing them," he said.

Bad roads blamed for deaths

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 03/11/2008 11:02 AM

JAKARTA: Damaged roads in Jakarta are to blame for seven deaths and 19 casualties in just over one month, according to Jakarta Police records. The injuries and deaths occurred between Feb. 1 and Mar. 9, in 29 accidents blamed on damaged roads in the capital, the Traffic Management Center said Monday.

As of March, the center recorded 120 sites where roads were damaged in Jakarta, causing traffic congestions and putting road users at risk.

The city administration and the city council have allocated Rp 22 billion (US$2.3 million) in the budget for road repairs.

Getting there quicker with GPS

Zatni Arbi , Contributor The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 03/03/2008 12:52 AM

A friend and I were in an office building in the Pondok Indah area, South Jakarta, and we were about to leave for the airport.

I had just powered up the Global Positioning System (GPS) device I had in my hand. While the device was busy determining our location, I selected our destination from the list of Points of Interest: Cengkareng Airport (Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport).

I had to wait for quite some time before the system finally zeroed in on our exact location. Once it knew where we were and where we wanted to go, it began to blow us away.

The sleek device I was playing around with this time was Mio C320. It was designed as a car navigation system, although it can easily fit into a shirt pocket.

What makes it stand out is its text-to-speech feature, which uses a woman's voice to guide the user turn-by-turn through the confusing maze of Jakarta's roads and alleys.

The Bluebird driver who took us to the airport was amazed at how accurate the instructions were every time.

"In three hundred meters, turn left." Or, "In two hundred meters, keep right". It was truly impressive!

The screen also showed some visual clues, too. On the upper left corner it had an arrow telling us where we should go next -- left, right or straight ahead.

The name of the next street we were to turn down was displayed at the top of the screen. The system also provided some trip statistics, such as the distance traveled.

We took a back street to avoid congested Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda, which took us through a residential area. The intelligent software inside the device didn't mind.

On the contrary, it continued to tell us to turn left or right. It conformed to the route the taxi driver was actually taking.

At one point, we didn't follow the instructions and stopped at a mini mart to get some bottled drinking water. The system forgave us for our disobedience and recalculated the route to make sure we were back on the right track to the airport.

The name "Mio" may not be as familiar to us as Panasonic or Samsung, and it definitely has nothing to do with Yamaha motorcycles. Still, Mio is the market leader in GPS devices in the Asia-Pacific region.

Garmin, which may ring a bell when talking about GPS gadgets, is still the market leader in the U.S., but Mio is the No. 3 there, says Sonia Chan, Mio's sales manager.

Frankly, I wasn't aware of the Taiwanese brand Mio before I was given the opportunity to interview Sonia Chan from Mio Technology Limited, Yo Yoe from PT Tele Atlas Indonesia and Kemal Toha from Kahar Duta Sarana right after the product launch in Indonesia.

However, when I checked the Web, I realized I had been missing a lot. Luckily, I was able to play around with a Mio C320 to really see how great the Mio GPS device is.

Mio kicked off its official arrival in Indonesia by introducing six different models, including the Mio C320 car navigation system. My review unit was priced at around Rp 5 million.

The other models included the A701 and A501, which are GPS devices with PDA and GSM phone functionality, as well as the P560 and P360 -- two GPS-cum-PDA-only models. And there was also the C230, a compact car navigation device. All these devices run Windows Mobile 6. The A701 and A501 also come with a 3.2 MP camera.

The digital mapping data is compiled by Tele Atlas, a global company based in the Netherlands.

"We use 50,000 data resources worldwide to ensure the highest level of accuracy," said Yo Yoe, Tele Atlas Indonesia's General Manager.

Kahar Duta Sarana has been appointed by the Taiwanese company as the authorized distributor of Mio products for the Indonesian market.

"We provide the logistics and user training for these products," said Kemal, the company's director.

A GPS device uses signals from a network of GPS satellites. There is no charge for using the signals beamed by the 24 satellites that were put into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense.

A GPS device needs at least three satellite signals to be able to determine any location on earth through a method known as triangulation. The results are shown on a digital map.

What are the things that I especially like about the C320? First, the large 4.3-inch touchscreen TFT is very bright and sharp. Secondly, the speech is very clear and the system uses remarkably simple English.

I didn't have the chance to measure the life of the integrated battery, but it should be more than enough for a long trip inside the city without crawling traffic.

Mio Technologies comes with the necessary accessories to attach it to the car's windscreen. There is a car power adapter as well, so we can use it for a trip all the way to Bali. Yes, Bali, folks.

Mio has preinstalled Tele Atlas' map for Jawa and Bali, Singapore and Malaysia. If I wanted to use it in Spain, for example, I would have to purchase the maps from Tele Atlas. It should be worth every cent, as the maps are very detailed. It even has addresses of nearby cash dispensers, gas stations, hotels, galleries, restaurants, etc.

By the way, if you use the device in countries like Singapore, the C320 will even alert you if there is a speed camera ahead.

There are a few shortcomings, of course. First, the screen tends to get washed out and unreadable outdoor under the sun. You can use it inside the car with no problem.

Second, the screen keypad is a bit too small for fat fingers like mine. This is something that Mio can learn from LG Mobile; in Viewty and Prada phones, I have no problem pressing the correct characters on the phones' touchscreen although the screen keys are pretty tiny.

Another item on my wish list is a mechanical volume adjustment. As it is now, turning the voice assistance up or down requires a lot of steps, which can create a dangerous distraction to a driver.

Finally, I think the system should also allow us to make some correction in street names. I came across Duri Kepa that should have been Duri Kelapa.

Despite these minor weaknesses, it will be very difficult for me to part with the C320. It's a very useful device, especially when you need to go to a place that you are not familiar with. It's no wonder someone once said "GPS is one of the most fantastic utilities ever devised by man".

Try using one of these Mios, and you'll be trying to convince your wife that you need it.

Priok port access badly damaged

Aditya Suharmoko and Novia D. Rulistia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The flow of goods to and from Tanjung Priok port has been further disrupted due to worsening road conditions and a scarcity of trailers, Director General of Customs and Excise Anwar Suprijadi said Thursday.

Up to 60 percent of import-export activities in the country go through Tanjung Priok port, government records said.

Anwar said delivery time and operational costs for companies had been adversely affected.

"The total losses from this is huge," he said without disclosing figures.

"I have reported it to the Secretary of Cabinet and a special team under the President overseeing the flow of goods."

The Land Transportation Organization (Organda) said potential losses due to the damaged Cakung-Cilincing road heading to Tanjung Priok could reach about Rp 2.2 billion (about US$243,000) for trailer renters every day.

Jakarta's Organda chairman Herry Rotti told The Jakarta Post damaged roads, which led to the scarcity of trailers, had decreased the total rate of truck cycles by half, from 4,000 a day.

"From one cycle, truck owners can have around Rp 1 million, which is a difference of 2,000 cycles, so their loss could reach Rp 2 billion," he said.

In addition, the maintenance expenses from 6,000 trucks at the port would be higher, reaching around Rp 200 million a day, he said.

"The only solution is to fix the roads," he said.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president overseeing transportation Chris Kanter confirmed the rates of trailer cycles to the port had been decreasing, particularly since the rainy season.

"Usually, a trailer can do three to five cycles a day," Chris said.

"Now it can do only one. Exports and imports are definitely in trouble."

Indonesia's ranking this year in the transportation infrastructure area dropped from 89 to 91.

Since September, the Cakung-Cilincing road has been widened from two lanes to three and has been raised slightly.

Director of highways and city roads at the Public Works Ministry Harris Batubara said traffic congestion was not only because of road reparations, but was also because trucks stopped roadside to repair blown tires.

He said the project was expected to finish mid year.

The government has allocated Rp 61.9 trillion for infrastructure spending in 2008, and about Rp 33.8 trillion would be spent on transportation infrastructure.

Damaged roads worsening traffic

The Jakarta Post

Forget speeding. Even for motorists traversing the city outside peak times, potholes have slowed the journey just the same.

Despite several deaths and injuries and numerous accidents that have resulted from the damaged roads, the city is still waiting for much-needed repairs to begin.

WATER FEATURE: Motorcyclists avoid a large puddle Friday on Jl. Sudirman. Potholes and puddles pose added risks to road users. JP/Arief Suhardiman

Potholes continue to appear around the city, on 30 roads submerged after heavy rains, including major thoroughfares Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta Police Traffic Management Center says.

Traffic accidents predominantly involving motorcyclists have also increased.

At least three motorcyclists have died, two others suffered major injuries and three have had minor injuries from accidents caused by damaged roads since January, East Jakarta Police traffic unit head Comr. Indra Jafar said as reported in Kompas daily on Friday.

Jakarta Police traffic division accident unit head Comr. Irvan Prawira said there were 33 accidents caused by potholes, 21 of which involved vehicles, between Feb. 14 and 21.

"The real figure may be twice as large. Those who didn't report to police usually have suffered only minor injuries," he said.

City Public Works Agency head Wisnu Subagya Yusuf said, however, the damaged roads accounted for less than 1 percent of the total 7,650 kilometers of Jakarta roads.

Wisnu said he had proposed Rp 52 billion in the 2008 city draft budget to repair the damaged roads but would only start work "when the money becomes available and the rainy season is over".

Need info about traffic? Ask TMC

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was around 1 p.m. on Thursday and the city police's Traffic Management Center had already received 653 text messages from drivers since 6 a.m.

"We usually receive many SMSs during busy hours, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m." TMC officer Saefuddin told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

"Most of the SMSs are from workers asking about information on traffic jams and alternative roads to avoid the jams," he said.

The center was established in 2005 to improve public services and information on traffic.

In addition to providing services to the public, the TMC also helps the police monitor officers more easily as patrol cars are now equipped with the global positioning system.

The TMC receives questions and complaints 24 hours a day via SMS 1717, a call center (021-5276001), the Internet (www.lantas.metro.polri.go.id), Suara Metro police radio (91.1 FM), fax (5276005) and police reports. The center also cooperates with Elshinta and Sonora radio stations.

"We want to be more open to the public. People can also enter the TMC building to watch how we work," another officer, First Adj. Insp. Krisman Menon, told the Post in his office at the city police headquarters, on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta.

To monitor traffic in the city, the TMC has installed 60 CCTV cameras around the capital. The views captured by the cameras are displayed on a big screen at the TMC office.

However, Krisman said only 60 of the cameras were currently in working order.

"Actually it affects our service but we can't repair them because we don't have enough money," he said.

To run the center, TMC officers work in three shifts of 17 people each.

So far this year, the center has received 94,642 SMSs, 17,843 phone calls, 1,615 emails, 476 questions and reports from radio stations and 87 faxes.

It received about 4,000 SMSs when floods hit Jakarta early this month and paralyzed the toll road to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Krisman said most of the people were seeking alternative routes to the airport.

The TMC also receives complaints about damaged roads around the city.

"Many people think that traffic police are in charge of damaged streets ... but it is the Public Works Ministry's responsibility," Krisman said.

"However, we keep accepting the complaints. Then we inform the ministry about the people's complaints so that they can repair the streets."

In addition to providing information and accommodating complaints from Jakartans, TMC also receives crime tips, including on illegal gambling dens and drug dealing spots, as well as bomb threats.

"Most information is useful for us. But we received some bomb hoaxes last year. In one case we were able to arrest the criminal by tracking him through his phone number," said Krisman.

Krisman suggested that people who want to ask for information or file complaints send an SMS instead of calling the center.

"Sending an SMS is more effective than the telephone. You might hear a busy tone when you use the phone because there are many people trying to call us," he said. (trw)

Leaving On A Jet Plane (Don't Know When I'll be Back Again)

The Jakarta Post, Simon Pitchforth

Well Friday of last week proved to be another fun day of over-hydration in the capital. Jakarta's floods seem to be moving from a five-year cycle toward a one-year cycle, the combined result of global warming, environmental degradation and years of poor city governance.

I'm sure you all have your own fun stories to relate. Myself, I attempted a trip into the office whilst the rain was still hammering down and, despite only walking for five minutes with an umbrella, got completely soaked from head to foot, and then found out that my appointment had been canceled due to the deluge. All good fun.

I cheered up no end though when I learnt that the President was in a similar flood-induced predicament, stranded in his motorcade on the toll road, no doubt composing tracks for that difficult second album (It's Raining in My Heart, Your Love Is like a Breached Flood Barrier, Toll Road of Desire, etc. etc.).

Other Indonesian politicians seemed to fare a little better however, mainly due to being the proud owners of the latest top of the range, high ground clearance SUVs. The Jakarta Post revealed all last Saturday:

"The rest of the Cabinet's ministers arrived on time at the palace for the meeting. Among them were Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal in a Land Rover, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Adm.(ret) Widodo AS in a Lexus Cygnus, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie in a Toyota Alphard, State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar in a BMW X5 and Forestry Minister MS Ka'ban in a Toyota Prado."

I stopped reading at that point as the story seemed to be lurching perilously close to something you'd find in Top Gear magazine. I wonder if these legislative auto enthusiasts get any commission for road testing these vehicles in Jakarta's 660 km square paddling pool.

Certainly other motorists were less fortunate and familiar images of half-submerged, abandoned cars once again filled the local media. Recently I've been considering getting a secondhand motor car but the thought of being conned into buying one of these terminally flood damaged clunkers fills me with dread.

Jakarta's airport seemed to be the biggest victim of last week's rain however. My housemate's own personal attempts to return from a Singapore visa run should provide an ample illustration. His plane was first diverted to Palembang where he was trapped inside with the other passengers on the runway with the air-conditioning off for ages whilst the backlog of diverted flights was dealt with.

Upon eventually arriving at Soekarno-Hatta he found that heading into town was impossible and checked into an airport hotel on one of their six-hour room stay deals. He crashed out, exhausted, only to be woken up at 3 a.m. by an insistent knocking on the door.

"Six hours finished Mr, time to check out." My bleary-eyed friend's attempt to prolong his stay with his credit card proved unsuccessful and he was forced to take a motorcycle taxi ride to the nearest ATM in order to secure further funds for more time in the land of nod.

The next day it eventually took the poor lamb three-and-a-half hours to get home via the back streets of Tanggerang.

These kinds of shenanigans don't really bode well for 2008: Visit Indonesia Year.

I mean you're pretty much stuck on the starting blocks if you can't even get out of the airport. If I was some fastidious potential business investor or wealthy tourist arriving at Soekarno-Hatta after a long, luxury business class flight quaffing champagne on Cathay Pacific whilst being manicured and peeled grapes by curvaceous stewardesses, I think I'd find the whole Jakarta airport scenario a bit of a rude awakening.

Although Jakarta's airport seems to be getting cut off from the rest of the world with increasing regularity, in truth this flooding problem has been on the cards for years.

In the dry season, the drive to the airport is actually a very pleasant canter through lush verdant vegetation and green paddy fields but on both sides the toll road is always surrounded by ominous swathes of water, ready to submerge it at a moment's notice. The whole area is basically a swamp.

The city administration seems to have done nothing about it for years though.

That famous, and alas now deceased, galactic hitchhiker Douglas Adams once said that, "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so," an epithet tailor-made for Jakarta's governors if you ask me.

Matters would certainly be helped if the city administration would finally get round to finishing the JORR (Jakarta Outer Ring Road) which would at least provide another exit route out of the airport. Work on the ring road was halted during the 1998 financial crisis and doesn't seem to have been started again since.

I learned in the paper this week that plans are afoot to elevate the airport tollway.

As I understand it though, the toll road, as it is now, is designed around an underlying "chicken's claw" system which distributes the road's weight evenly over a larger area of the bog underneath, stopping it from sinking.

Would it really be possible to build an elevated tollway on such an unstable base given that the current road is basically floating as it is? Perhaps any civil engineers out there could enlighten me on this point as I'm getting way out of my depth here.

Until then it's adieu from me for another week and if you find yourself wading through floodwaters over the next month, remember to wash your legs thoroughly afterwards.

http://metromad.blogspot.com/

--Simon Pitchforth

Flooding cuts off Situbondo-Banyuwangi route

Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA News) - A flash flood destroyed Parengekan bridge in Panarukan village, Sutibondo and cut off the Situbondo-Banyuwangi land route on late Friday.

Due to the road cut off, around 100 trucks were trapped in a congestion in the disaster`s location.

Indonesia is currently in very wet rainy season which has triggered flooding in many areas such as Jakarta, East Java, Central Java, Gorontalo, and West Sumatra.

Traffic accidents on the rise in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Negligence on the part of motorists and the poor condition of roads contributed to a large increase in the number of traffic accidents in Greater Jakarta last year.

In 2007, 4,466 traffic accidents were reported in Jakarta, while in 2006 the number of accidents reported was 40 percent less at 3,908 cases, according to data from the Jakarta Police Traffic Management Center (TMC).

Last year, 754 accidents were reported in East Jakarta, which was exactly the same number of accidents reported in the area the previous year.

In North Jakarta, traffic accidents increased by almost 120 percent in 2007, with some 701 accidents reported. The number of accidents in South Jakarta in 2007 increased by 67 percent to 640.

"Most of the accidents involved motorcycles," TMC officer First. Brig. Yoka Mulyadi told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"The main factor contributing to the huge number of traffic accidents in Jakarta is the negligence of motorists," he added.

Separately, Fransiscus Trisbiantara, the head of transportation studies at Trisakti University, said most motorcycle accidents occurred because riders were unskilled. He said research showed that more than 50 percent of accident victims did not have driving licenses.

He said the poor condition of several roads around the city also contributed to the increasing number of accidents in 2007.

Last year the university joined forces with several other organizations to conduct research into the cause of accidents in Jakarta. Their findings revealed that on average more than 300 casualties were reported in Jakarta per month due to motorcycle accidents.

"Our numbers are higher than police figures because we also checked hospitals," Trisbiantara told the Post.

He said the construction of busway lanes and toll roads also affected road conditions, which in turn had the potential to cause accidents when there were no signs to warn motorists.

To prevent motorcycle accidents, Trisbiantara said police should carry out more raids on motorcycle riders to check their licenses and other documents.

"Police should also enforce regulations that oblige motorcyclists to stay on the left side of the street," he said, adding that the city administration should provide special lanes for motorcyclists.

Police data shows that accidents in 2007 involved 4,296 drivers, with 508 deaths and 2,810 injuries recorded in total.

Last year the Traffic Management Center received more than 700,000 reports and questions covering 16 categories. These included accidents, traffic regulation violations, traffic congestion, driving licenses, vehicle ownership documents, vehicle tax, lost vehicles, vehicle identity queries, gambling, drugs, thuggery, bomb threats, criticism, advice and compliments.

"People often ask us about vehicle identity information before they purchase cars or motorcycles. They want to compare our data with the data given by vehicle sellers," Yoka said.

The center also received 17,755 reports and complaints related to traffic congestion in the city last year.

People can contact the center by sending a text message to 1717, calling 021-5276001, visiting www.lantas.metro.polri.go.id, calling Suara Metro Radio 107,8 FM on 570-8037 or 08121111911 or by sending a fax to 021-5276004. (dia)

Flash floods hit thousands of houses in North Aceh

Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - Flash floods have inundated thousands of houses in 19 sub districts in North Aceh District, Aceh Province, since Friday, following incessant rains over the past few days.

The flood waters in a number of residential areas in North Aceh reached heights of up to one meter, Bukhari, an official of the Aceh provincial social affairs office, said here on Saturday.

The worst affected areas were Matangkuli and Langkahan where a number of residents were forced to evacuate themselves to safer places reas and schools were closed, he said.

Three bridges in Bukit Linteung, Langkahan sub district, were destroyed by the floods, and tens of inhabitants of Pateng Siribee were forced to flee their homes in boats.

Several villages in Aceh`s eastern coastal areas were also flooded such as Bireuen District, Lhokseumawe, East Aceh and Kuala Simpang.

Floods have affected East Aceh since last Wednesday (Dec. 5) evening.

Flood waters up to one meter high submerged houses in Pantee Bidari, Simpang Jernih, Ranto Peureulak, Julok, Nurussalam, Idi Tunmong, Banda Alam, Darul Aman, Peudawa, Peureulak Barat, Peureulak Timur and Sungai Raya.

However, there were no immediate reports of casualties in the floods.

Campaign to halt the nation's road carnage

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Traffic accidents are all too common in Indonesia. According to the traffic police, the number who died last year reached more than 30,000, for the most part due to low awareness of what constitutes safe driving.

Sr. Comr. A. Sukri P, a unit head at the National Police's traffic directorate said Thursday that people in the country still did know about or obey traffic regulations.

Low awareness was not only dangerous for drivers but also other motorists and pedestrians, he said.

"Of the three components of driving -- the driver, the vehicle and the condition of the road -- it's the driver that is the most important," Sukri said.

He said that, as a result of this, there had to be an improvement in driver discipline.

"But first, (drivers) have to understand the rules better."

Police recently started a safe driving campaign, with a particular emphasis on public transport drivers.

The campaign, dubbed Supir Heroik, is aimed at broadening drivers' understanding of traffic regulations, Sukri said at the launch of the social responsibility program of tire producer Goodyear.

The program, supported by the national police headquarters and the directorate for road safety at the Transportation Ministry, is being held to promote safe driving and improve the image of public transport drivers, said Alex Irawan, the finance director of PT Goodyear Indonesia.

Suripno, the ministry's director for road safety, also reminded people to take an active role in promoting safe driving by complying with road rules and controlling their emotions while driving. Accidents could happen if drivers failed to control their emotions, he added.