Jalan Haji Darip in East Jakarta Turns Red, Construction Dust Invades Residents’ Homes and Food Stalls

This has left several yards and house porches dirty.

Food stalls have also been affected, as experienced by Wati (46), a food stall owner near Jalan Haji Darip.

She said she needs to mop her stall several times a day to keep it clean.

“There are days I mop up to 10 times. The dust gets blown in by the wind. And since this is a food place, it must be clean,” Wati said.

The dust entering the stall also forces Wati to open and close the stall entrance repeatedly when dust is swirling outside.

“So the door has to be opened and closed a lot. In a food place, cleanliness is a must; you can't expect customers to eat dust,” she added.

She worries that the dust compromises the hygiene of the food and dining area.

Residents Complain About Construction Dust

Residents believe this issue should receive attention during the construction since the building activities take place within a community still in full use.

Nur Hakim said both residents and construction workers share the interest of keeping the roads comfortable to use.

“I feel sorry for food stall owners. We all work along this road. The project should respect the people,” Nur Hakim said.

He added that the red soil deposits also made the road surface slippery for riders.

“Yesterday the road was slippery. But rules for construction in urban areas should prevent this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jumadi said residents want the problem solved promptly without waiting for the road condition to worsen again.

He admitted residents were unsure who to report the soil deposits to.

“That’s why people were confused about who to report to. This should be cleaned regularly. The project workers must keep the area clean,” said Jumadi.