Thousands Of Motorcyclists In Jakarta Rush Roadblock To 'Balik Kampung' For Hari Raya
Authorities were forced to open the border in order to avoid traffic congestion and a breakout of infections due to the mass crowding.
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Thousands of motorcyclists in Jakarta gathered at the Bekasi-Kerawang border with the intention of returning to their hometowns
According to Tribunnews, the incident took place around 10.40pm on Sunday, 9 May.
The vast number of motorcyclists at the location caused a massive traffic jam as long as 5km.
When the authorities tried to stop the motorcyclists from crossing the border and ordered them to turn back due to COVID-19 restrictions, they were ignored and some of the motorcyclists even started to go against the traffic flow.
Image via Muhammad Azzam/Tribunnews
In the end, the authorities were forced to temporarily open the borders out of fear of unwanted accidents at the chaotic scene
This allowed the motorcyclists to cross the border and head to their destinations.
Bekasi metro police chief Hendra Gunawan said that his team had tried to stop the public from crossing the border.
"However, in order to avoid terrible traffic congestion, we were forced to open the barricade. There could have been a breakout of infections due to the crowding," he explained to JawaPos.
Authorities in Indonesia have enforced a special operation to ban the public from returning to their hometowns in conjunction with Aidilfitri
'Operasi Ketupat Jaya 2021' has been enforced since 6 May and will end on 17 May.
Police officers have been dispatched to 17 checkpoints and 14 roadblocks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Remember to limit your movement and keep practising physical distancing. Watch the latest update on the COVID-19 situation:
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