Public kitchen planned for Gembrong Market fire victims: official

Acting head of Kramat Jati sub-district, Rudy Syahrul, has said that his team will build a public kitchen soon to help residents affected by the Gembrong Market fire in Jatinegara, East Jakarta.

The plan for the public kitchen is aimed at ensuring and guaranteeing food and drink supplies for residents of RW01, or the first hamlet of Kramat Jati sub-district, he added.

“The plan is to establish (a public kitchen) near the mosque because it is close to clean water. If there is no clean water in the tent, one must pull the hose from the musala,” Syahrul said here on Wednesday. Later on, the public kitchen will be operated by the local Disaster Ready Village (KSB) cadres and Cipinang Besar Utara village officers, he added.

However, if the situation proves problematic, the Cipinang Besar Utara village will submit a request for the extension of logistics distribution to the East Jakarta Social Office, he informed.

“From East Jakarta Social Office, the ready meals supply will end on May 5, 2022. If (the supply) is not enough, a submission for a 10-day extension will be made,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of RW01 of Cipinang Besar Utara, Maju Saiman Hutabarat, said his party is currently preparing for the public kitchen’s operation with the help of a number of PKK (Family Welfare Empowerment) cadres and Karang Taruna, Indonesia’s youth organization. He said he is optimistic that the public kitchen will run smoothly because it has received logistical assistance from donors for residents who are still displaced.

“We have the logistics; most of us just look for side dishes. Hopefully, the donations can be used. The water source is from musala using PAM (water hose),” Hutabarat added.

According to an official, a fire gutted 400 homes and shops in the Gembrong Market area of East Jakarta on April 24 this year.

Source: Antara News