"Based on the reports we received from the field, there had been 70 accidents on the road since we started the operation for Ied on June 8," said Head of the National Police Force Public Relations division Brig.Gen. Mohammad Iqbal in Jakarta, Saturday.
The accidents led to the death of 14 people and severely wounded 12 people, while 84 others suffered mild injuries.
Compared to the data from last year`s operational period, the number was recorded to have gone down by 33 percent.
"Last year, there were 104 cases recorded, seven days before Ied, which led to the death of 39 people," he said.
He added that there have been an increase in vehicle flow from Jakarta towards West Java and Central Java by 30 percent. The increase in the traffic flow resulted in a long enough queue at a number of points on the toll and arterial road.
"Congestion in toll roads and main roads are due to the heavy volume of vehicles that are operating at the same time," he said.
The 2018 Ketupat Operation will last for 18 days from 7 June to 24 June. There were 177 thousand personnel from the National Army, as well as Police force, Satpol PP, firefighters and the ranks of relevant agencies deployed in the operation.
Police also prepared as many as 3,097 security posts throughout Indonesia during the implementation of the Ketupat Operation 2018.
(UU.KR-ARC/B003)
Reporter: Aria Cindyara
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
