December 10, 2001	Monday	Ramazan 24, 1422

JAKARTA, Dec 9: Millions will be on the move in the world’s largest Muslim-populated nation as the holy month of Ramazan draws to a close, prompting Indonesian authorities to brace themselves for their customary traffic, logistical and security headache.

“We are sort of getting used to it but it is still a lot of work, mainly of coordination,” said J.A. Barata, spokesman for the directorate general of land transport.

Tradition demands that the December 16-17 Eid-ul-Fitr festival at the end of Ramazan — known locally as Lebaran — is spent with the family, creating a massive annual homeward exodus in the huge archipelago.

The transport ministry estimates that close to 15 million people — almost nine percent more than last year — will travel by land before and after the end of Ramazan. An estimated 1.7 million others will use ships and 400,000 will travel by air.

The transport ministry started preparing in June for the peak travel period, December 9 to January 4. Barata’s office coordinates efforts to ensure a smooth journey with the police, local authorities, the state railway company, private transport operators, the meteorological office, the search and rescue agency and other institutions.

Barata said more than 30,000 buses, 240 trains and 100 short-range ferries will be deployed to move people in Java, southern Sumatra and Bali.

No fewer than 602 longer-range ships and 119 aircraft will also be deployed.

The navy will make available four big landing craft which can each carry 1,000 people if extra help is needed, navy chief Indroko Sastrowiryono has said.

Java is a focus of the efforts. The island only accounts for some seven percent of the country’s land area but accommodates more than half of the 210 million population.

The repair of bridges and roads on main routes, the provision of enough transport and the smooth supply of adequate livestock for consumption “are problems that never end” during the period, Barata said.

“Among other problems are the low discipline of drivers, ticket scalpers and high illegal transport fares,” he said.

Even though the government sets maximum fares for public transport during the exodus, enforcement is difficult. Some operators charge exorbitant sums and ticket touts thrive.

A law which came into force in January and gives provinces and districts greater autonomy has added to problems in managing the mass travel.

The post-Ramazan period also brings its own problems for city authorities each year.

Impressed by the relative wealth of city-dwellers returning home for the festival, many countryfolk are lured to move to the cities in the hope of a better life.

“I do not have the number but those returning to cities always definitively exceed those who had left,” Barata said.

But despite the hardships — long traffic jams on Java’s main highways, packed and overbooked transport and high fares — people continue to head home.

“That is nothing compared to the joy of celebrating Lebaran with my parents in Purwokerto (Central Java),” says Wakem, a 38-year-old maid who has worked in Jakarta for more than 12 years.

As in the past 12 years, she will take 10 days’ leave to go home.

Officials like Barata will be less lucky.

“Anyone working in the program has no right to leave during that period,” he said.—AFP