Cars and motorcycles coming from outside Central Java were stopped by policemen at 13 checkpoints, set up on several toll road and non-toll road sections inside the province's territory, and asked to turn back, according to Central Java Police spokesperson, Sen.Coms. Iskandar F. Sutisna.
Policemen also screened vehicles coming from outside Central Java before allowing them to continue their trip, as part of the government's temporary ban on homebound travel during the fasting month of Ramadhan and the Idul Fitri holiday season.
All over Central Java, 277 security and surveillance checkpoints have been set up for the purpose. On the Trans-Java toll road section, two checkpoints have been set up at the Pejagan and Sragen exit toll gate to stop cars carrying homebound travelers.
According to Sutisna, homebound travelers arriving from Jakarta and Bandung (West Java) were being screened at the Pejagan exit toll gate, while those traveling from Surabaya (East Java) were being checked at the Sragen exit toll gate.
Director of the Central Java Police's Traffic Division, Sen. Coms. Subandriya had said earlier that the police would prevent vehicles arriving from West Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java, but would not close the Trans-Java Toll Road.
Police officers would thoroughly check incoming cars, he informed.
"If they are categorized as homebound travelers, they will be urged to turn back," he stated, adding that police will first check cars at the Pejagan toll road section and then again at the Brebes Timur Toll Gate.
To this end, the Central Java Police is coordinating with police precincts near the toll road and non-toll road sections, such as Cilacap and Brebes, to monitor vehicles heading to and coming from West Java, Magelang, and Prambanan, which share borders with Yogyakarta, as well as Wonogiri, Sragen, Blora, and Rembang, as a precautionary measure to handle the flow of vehicles from and to East Java.
The central government officially implemented the 'mudik' ban at 00:00 hrs Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Friday, April 24, 2020. The ban excludes the movement of logistics, drugs, officers, fire engines, ambulances, and hearses.
As stipulated in the Minister of Transportation's Regulation on Transportation Control during the Idul Fitri 1441 H Mudik, public vehicles, private vehicles, and motorbikes have been banned from entering and departing from regions enacting Large-Scale Social Distancing (PSBB) measures and regions demarcated as COVID-19 red zones, such as Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.
The ban will be in place until May 31, 2020 for land transportation; June 15, 2020 for railway transportation; June 8, 2020 for sea transportation; and, June 1, 2020 for air transportation. (INE)
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Translator: Immanuel CS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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