REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - More than 10,000 Idul Fitri homebound travelers aboard 190 free buses left Jakarta for various destinations in Central Java on Saturday. Central Java Deputy Governor Rustriningsih released the homebound travelers in a ceremony at Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum in the Indonesia-in-miniature park (TMII), East Jakarta.
"About 10,260 Central Java residents in Jakarta are traveling on the free buses," she said. She expressed hope that homebound travelers would be able to create jobs in their hometowns and reduce Jakarta`s population.
Also present were chief of the Central Java community`s advisory board Wiranto, chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle (PDIP)`s central executive board Yanti Sukamdani, and a number of Central Java provincial officials. Wiranto, who is also chairman of the People`s Conscience (Hanura) Party, said the free Idul Fitri homebound travel would help alleviate the financial burden of the homebound travelers. He also asked the homebound travelers not to return to Jakarta with their relatives.
The free buses were made available by the Central Java provincial government, in cooperation with 35 district and municipal governments in the province and Central Java government-owned Bank Jateng.