A police officer from the K9 unit directs a sniffer dog at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin (SMB) II airport in Palembang, South Sumatera, on Friday (23/6). The K9 was deployed to check and secure the airport during the Idul Fitri holiday.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The police have tightened security in the roads used for homecoming travel and big cities to ensure that Idul Fitri will be safe from acts of terrorism. Meanwhile, traffic management has been effective in overcoming the problem of congestion, which has not been as bad as it was in last year’s Lebaran homecoming.
National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Syafruddin said in his visit to Pasar Senen station, Central Jakarta, Friday(23/6) that the National Police have deployed 167,000 personnel to guard the roads used in the mass exodus and secure Jakarta and other big cities.
The first focus of the police is to further smoothen the flow of homecoming vehicles to prevent heavy congestion.
The next focus is securing Jakarta and other big cities in Indonesia. According to Syafruddin, after the bomb attack in Kampung Melayu, Jakarta, the police have been on constant alert against similar attacks in other places.
The police will not be careless and assume that the condition is safe. The police will continue to be vigilant and attempt to prevent any terrorist attacks.
Furthermore, the police have also tightened security in various monuments and crowded places to prevent road crimes. The tight security during Ramadhan has reduced the crime rate by 20 percent to 30 percent.
Cooperation with the Indonesian Military, regional administrations and community groups has helped the police in further securing Jakarta and other cities.
National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Rikwanto said that the police will focus securing the mass exodus by not forgetting about their hunt for people that could potentially disrupt the security or commit terrorism during Lebaran.
“After the bomb blast in Kampung Melayu, we have already arrested 41 people. The investigation and hunting of the people we think are capable of committing terror crimes still goes on,” Rikwanto said.
According to Rikwanto, anticipative security against terrorism is also done by placing personnel for open and closed security measures at various government offices, national monuments, places of worship, bus terminals, trains stations, ports and airports.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Raden Prabowo Agro Yuwono said that the police ear working hard to ensure safety.
“We will step up patrol in areas that are left by many of its residents who have gone home [to their respective villages]. Patrol is also carried out in crowded places,” Argo said.
Bandung police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Nazli Harahap said that the police have formed a special team to anticipate various crimes, including terrorist threats.
“The intelligence team on the ground continues to monitor suspicious activities,” Nazli said.
Traffic Jam
The homecoming congestion on Friday was still mainly concentrated on the Cikampek toll road. Congestion occurred from Thursday 10 p.m. to Friday 2 a.m.
On Friday morning, the end of the congestion was seen on Kilometer 2 of the Jakarta-Cikampek road. Cars were moving at the speed of 5 km per hour.
The traffic jam was also made worse by the long queue to get into rest areas at Km 39 and Km 57. Many travelers stopped at the side of the road to rest because they were not able to enter the rest area.
Traffic management in the form of contra flow traffic diversion applied from Km 32 has been fairly effective in easing congestion.
According to Hervian, head of the Cikarang Utama toll gate in West Java, the number of cars that passed through on Friday (6 a.m. to 9 p.m.) reached 56,269 units, less than the figure recorded in the same period of the previous day, which reached 68,000 units.
After Cikampek, the traffic flow to Palimanan, Cirebon, also in West Java, and to Bandung is seen flowing more smoothly. The queue at Palimanan toll gate was only 500 meters long because 24 out the 26 gates were opened.
Divided into three roads
The call by the police and the government to use the northern coastal, southern and central highways has been acted upon by homecoming travelers. There is no heavy congestion after the Palimanan toll road. However, there was congestion on three other roads, even though cars were able to continue to move slowly.
In the Central Java northern coastal highway, the road from Tegal to Gringsing was not crowded and vehicles could travel at 50 km per hour. There was congestion at the meeting point between the emergency toll road and the northern coastal highway, which prompted the police to implement the contraflow system.
There was yet another traffic jam from Kaliwungu Ring road, Kendal regency, in Central Java toward Semarang, also in Central Java.
In the central highway, traffic built up at a number of locations in Purbalingga, Banjarnegara and Secang, Central Java. However, vehicles were still able to move slowly.
In the southern highway, Nagrek was the center of congestion. The police implemented a contra flow system to ease traffic. More traffic jams were found in Malangbong, Garut, because of the uphill and winding road forcing vehicles to decelerate.
Other modes of transportation
At the Tanjung Priok port, four ships have left for Semarang, Surabaya in East Java and Lampung to transport a total of 4,116 homecoming passengers.
At the Pasar Senen and Gambir stations, 53,150 homecoming travelers took trains to a number of cities in Java.
The number of travelers leaving from Kalideres, West Jakarta, terminal reached 7,049 people on 404 buses. At Pulogebang terminal, East Jakarta, the number of homecoming travelers reached 11,165 people and in Kampung Rambutan terminal, East Jakarta, the number of passengers reached 5,437 people.
