Jakarta, IO – The ambience of an informal settlement adjacent to a railway in Pejompongan, Jakarta (7/8). Scarce land and exorbitant housing prices have forced people to utilize the open space on the side of the railway track to build makeshift housing although it poses safety risks.
The distance between the tracks and residents’ houses is only three meters. As a result, they have to be on constant alert of incoming trains. In fact, every afternoon, residents who are mostly migrants from outside Jakarta crowd the tracks to socialize while children were playing exuberantly.
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State-owned railway company PT KAI has firmly prohibited any buildings to be constructed around the tracks and surrounding area that could endanger the safety of train travel. This is in accordance with Government Regulation (PP) 56/2009 which stipulates that at least 6 meter-area extending from both sides of the railway track must be sterile from any structure.
(IO/Septo Kun Wijaya)