Poverty Eradication

Jammed in Pasar Kaget, Gas Alam Depok [Photo: Iskandar Bakrie]If you wanted to walk arround or sports while shopping with your family, in the morning, try to visit the  Gas Alam New Road which divides the area between Bogor Main Road (Cisalak) through the Margonda Main Road, Depok. Here, you can have 'sweat' while tasted the culinary delights from various regions along the avenue.

Not only that, essentially all you need is available on this street. If you bring four-wheeled vehicle, you better find a safe parking lot first, and then walking while sight-seeing for any suitable stuff to buy, with a suitable price as well.

Along this road, since the era of monetary crisis, and the completion of this passing road from Gas Alam to Depok Margonda, every Sunday, was changed to Pasar Tumpah or 'Spill Market'. Pasar Tumpah is equal with Pasar Kaget or "Occasionally Market" where traders can sell on a particular day, without having to hire all the shanties.

[Photo: Iskandar Bakrie]However, you should be smart if you wanted to shop in this market. Because, besides there are traders who are selling their products with lower price, there was also traders who seeking high profit, and hard to negotiate.

In this occasionally market, all the goods seems to represent your needs. Name it: household appliances, clothes ranging from batik, shirts, to formal cloths, ornamental trees, belts, anda motor credit even exists. While culinary ranging from Nasi Uduk Tanah Abang, Lontong Sayur Betawi, Various kinds of Soto, and others dish are available here.

[Photo: Iskandar Bakrie]

"To sell in here is easy. We displayed our stuffs from early morning, and it would be sold out in the noon. We don't have to rent shanties. We only need to came here once a week, and the goods were sold out," said one of the cloths seller to TNOL.

A leather belt could be sold worth for Rp35,000; various batik shirts were sold from Rp40,000 to Rp75,000; long batik pants worth fro Rp20,000; moreover, pets such as hamster, rabbits, etc were also sold in here.

[Photo: Iskandar Bakrie]The impromptu traders were commonly occupy the sidewalk along the street. Jammed? Of course! Then, why it wasn't prohibited by the Depok City Government? This is a local wisdom. It seems that the government ignored the market existence.

What kind of local wisdom is it?
Depok Municipality Government could be providing the opportunity about the presence of these traders because they were increasingly marginalized. It's so expensive to rent a stall in the mall, while the products were designated to lower economic level of people.

Expanded To The Bridge [Photo: Iskandar Bakrie]

On the other hand, the increasing number of emerging markets or ocassionally markets is a reflection of social inequality that was happening, since the capitalists are spontaneous expanded their business in various corners of city.

Name it along the Margonda Main Road, how many malls and plazas are existed? And who are the properties owners? Is there any privilege for traditional traders to be able to occupy the selling area at affordable prices? The answer is NO!

Say with flower

However, traditional traders have to face big challenges, which ultimately don't have an adequate place of business again. How many traditional markets that suddenly 'burnt' (sorry to use quotation marks to distinguish a true fired or deliberately burned). And after the event 'on fire', the traders who used to occupy the shanties, seemed to expelled. Because, soon the burnt land will transformed into shopping malls or plazas.

This is where the capitalist bandits playing their game. They were 'expell' traditional traders through the hands of power. Who will defend these traditional traders? It seems that they are getting crushed by their own contemporaries.

Now, with generating of occasionally market, it's a reasonable if the Depok Municipality Government would have graciously invited the traditional traders to meet their 'winning day' on Sunday morning. While those who feel the traffic jam, was commonly no complaining. Because the slower they walked the easier the eye could see the displayed products.

When it happens like this, who knows what is inside of the investor minds. Whether in surrounding of Jalan Gas Alam will be built another shopping center, since so many housing were also existed in the area. And then, is there any goodwill of Depok Government to find permanent area for this traditional traders? Just wait and see!