‘Fall Season’ on Pantura Road
After new toll roads bulldozed their economy, now they have to contend with the COVID-19 outbreak. The new normal brings them hope and fear.
Small business owners on West Java’s northern coastal road (Pantura) are befriending loneliness once again. After new toll roads bulldozed their economy, now they have to contend with the COVID-19 outbreak. The new normal brings them hope and fear.
A container of water can be found in front of a food stall on West Java’s northern coastal road in Pegagan village, Palimanan district, Cirebon regency, on Sunday (5/7/2020) afternoon. Along with liquid soap, the container of water was how the food stall’s owner adapted to the ongoing pandemic.
All visitors are required to wash their hands before going in.
“Some refuse and just go straight in. I tell them to wash their hand at the back before eating,” said the food stall’s owner Masrih, 47.
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Like the container, still full of water, the food stall’s kitchen was also still “full” of meals. This was despite the fact that the sun was beginning to set and Masrih’s cash register was still waiting for money to come in. It was so deserted that Masrih just sat with her legs straight out. She cooled herself with a bamboo hand fan and an electric fan.
Masrih’s eyes were glued to an old TV. She was watching news of celebrities affected by the pandemic. They sold fried rice, bakpao (steamed buns) and other foods. Having rented her food stall on the Pantura for four years, Masrih’s fate was no better than the celebrities. In fact, it had been worse in the past three months.
“During the Idul Fitri mudik [exodus] season in May, only a few stopped by. I got Rp 300,000 [US$20.76] a day at most,” said the mother of four.
Also read : Eased Restrictions Increases Risk of Covid-19 Transmission in Pantura
In previous years’ mudik season, she could get up to Rp 1.5 million a day. Her days got more difficult this year as her husband, who works odd jobs, has not been able to find work.
For Masrih and other small business owners on the Pantura, the Idul Fitri mudik season is the time to reap a profit. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles pass using the route are their source of income. At this time, seasonal food stalls and public toilet providers mushroom by the road.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the government issuing a travel ban to curb the disease’s spread. For small business owners along the Pantura, this is like rubbing salt into a wound. Just when they were about to get up, they were struck down again.
Now, only the streets are packed. All the shops are dying
Even before the pandemic, the opening of the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) toll road in 2015 had bulldozed their economy. The toll road “robbed” the Pantura of tens of thousands of passing vehicles. Restaurants, auto shops and other businesses were closed. They fell one by one, like leaves in the autumn.
Darja, 53, of Rawagatel village, Arjawinangun, Cirebon, now only has a shop in her 6-square-meter living room. A phone credit shop and a motorbike washing service in front of her house are now only memories.
The Rp 3 million she spent for her business during the Idul Fitri mudik season has yet to return. In previous years, she could reap a profit. In her golden years before the toll road was opened, her income could be more than Rp 10 million during the mudik season.
Also read : Pantura Declared Covid-19 High-Risk Area
“Now, only the streets are packed. All the shops are dying,” Darja said while dusting several glasses. Two public toilets that she provides for motorists at the back of her house have also been empty. They are locked with whatever tools she has.
Darja has no clue how much she earns from the public toilets, which cost Rp 2,000 per person. They were the source of income for a food stall owner that had moved away to God knows where, she said. The mother of five and grandmother of seven does not understand the risks of COVID-19. She does not wear a mask or provide a wash basin.
Crowded traffic at Simpang Jomin, Karawang, West Java, Friday (22/5/2020).Eva, a 17-year-old souvenir shop and public toilet attendant in Jonim, Karawang, West Java, said only five people came every day to use the toilet, which belongs to her aunt. In the Idul Fitri season of 2019, at least 20 people a day used the toilet with a fee of Rp 2,000 per use.
Hotel owners in Karawang and Cirebon are also affected. At least 11 hotels in Cirebon have been closed. Hundreds of employees are furloughed or even fired. At the Grand Mutiara Karawang Hotel, for instance, six out of 12 employees are furloughed to cut operational costs.
Grand Mutiara Karawang Hotel manager Agus Solihin, 28, said only 10 out of the hotel’s 50 rooms were filled at most during the pandemic, mostly by public transportation drivers and their families.
“Last year, we were fully booked,” he said.
Also read : Transmission Still High, Detection Not Optimal
Pantura’s gloomy economy due to the pandemic was also seen at the Bank Indonesia (BI) representative office in Cirebon, which only recorded an outflow of Rp 2.5 trillion during the Idul Fitri period. In the same period last year, the office recorded an outflow of Rp 4 trillion. This means that the flow of money in and around Cirebon has dropped this year.
Now, as the government prepares for a new normal, many are hoping the economy will blossom again in Pantura. BI Cirebon representative office head Bakti Artanta said that according to a survey, the consumer confidence index (IKK) in and around Cirebon was 68.5 points, an increase from 55.8 points in May.
“Consumer’s confidence in the economy in the six months ahead is increasing,” he said.
Nevertheless, the figure remains low. In 2019, a similar survey showed that the IKK in and around Cirebon was above 100 points.
Increased sales
The economy has also bloomed again in Karawang. On Saturday (4/7), souvenir shop owner Asep S, 38, was all smiles as he had sold 40 kilograms of fermented cassava, locally known as tape. This was a record during the pandemic. A few months ago, he could sell only 5 kg a day.
He had adapted to the pandemic. Now, he uses a face mask and provides a wash basin. His store, measuring 7 m by 12 m, is cleaned often. A wipe and a feather duster are his weapons in cleaning the dust on his store display.
“If the glasses are crystal clear, visitors will be attracted,” he said.
Amid hopes of a blossoming economy on Pantura, the major transportation route is also prone to the spread of COVID-19. Checkpoints for visitors were disbanded at the end of the Idul Fitri mudik season, while people’s mobility was increasing.
Remember, kill the virus, not the economy,
The West Java administration has even declared Pantura regions, including Karawang, Subang, Indramayu and Cirebon, as yellow zones or prone to COVID-19. There are at least 194 COVID-19 cases in these regions, most of which are from travelers or out-of-towners.
Transit places, such as hotels and food stalls, are prone to becoming centers of COVID-19 transmissions if health protocols are neglected. Therefore, there must be a strict adherence to health protocols and no tolerance of those who violate them.
“Remember, kill the virus, not the economy,” Bakti Artanta said. Hopefully.