Jakarta, (Antara) - With July 6, 2016, just two days away, Muslims across Indonesia are eagerly gearing up for the Idul Fitri, or locally known as Lebaran festivities.
For Muslims, Lebaran is a victorious day after restraining from food and beverages, and the victory over the temptation of physical lust during the day all through the holy month of Ramadan.
Lebaran is the most celebrated of all festivals, and thus, Muslims in Indonesia have been making elaborate preparations for the celebrations to mark the end of the 2016 fasting month.
Everyone seems to be in a festive mood. The aura of the holiday spirit can now be felt in the Greater Jakarta areas where the normally congested streets are pleasantly deserted, and one can actually take a deep breath without inhaling a lungful of pollution.
Muslims in Indonesia, who account for nearly 90 percent of the country's population, are gearing up for Lebaran celebrations on July 6-7 this year.
During this time, the capital city of Jakarta reveals itself as a friendly city, with wide, tree-lined avenues where pedestrians can stroll on the pavements without the risk of being hit by a motorbike.
The prevailing custom of Lebaran in Indonesia is one of the largest temporary human migrations observed globally when workers return to their hometowns to celebrate with their families and relatives and to seek forgiveness from parents, in-laws, and other elders.
Such a mass exodus, or homecoming, is known in Indonesia as "mudik," which is an annual tradition wherein the people living in major cities, such as Greater Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, and elsewhere, travel to their hometowns to visit their relatives.
In its efforts to handle the massive surge of travelers, the Indonesian government is providing additional transportation facilities several days prior to and after the Lebaran festivities.
Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said his ministry has provided motorcyclists and pillion riders free homebound rides ahead of the Lebaran Islamic holidays.
This year, the Transportation Ministry has deployed free buses to carry 24 thousand people and trucks to transport 12 thousand motorcycles to Solo, Yogyakarta, Magelang, Malang, Kebumen, and elsewhere across Java Island.
Jonan noted that in a bid to reduce the number of homebound travelers using motorcycles, the Transportation Ministry had provided trucks, trains, and ships to transport the motorcyclists and their co-passengers to their destinations for free.
The Transportation Ministry had announced its plan to offer the free travel program for homebound motorcyclists through print and electronic media a month ago, the minister pointed out.
Regardless of the police's efforts to secure travelers, accidents have continued to occur.
Traffic accidents occurring across Indonesia on June 30 and July 1, the sixth and seventh days prior to the post-fasting Lebaran Islamic festival, mostly involved motorcycles.
According to National Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Martinus Sitompul, the number of motorcycles involved in traffic accidents on the seven days before (D-7) Idul Fitri was 45 and on D-6 was 141.
Other traffic accidents involved 50 cargo cars, 38 private cars, and 12 buses.
Further, traffic accidents have resulted in 42 deaths, while 68 people suffered serious injuries, and 196 sustained minor injuries, along with 196 individuals with other injuries during the first two days of Operation Ramadniya, conducted by the police throughout Indonesia from June 30 to July 15.
Some 158,402 personnel have been deployed to secure two traffic zones, with the first covering Java, Lampung, and Bali, while the second zone covers the country's remaining regions.
The hardships and inconvenience endured by the travelers crammed in overcrowded buses, trains, and cars, even by motorbikes is unbelievable, yet they consider it to be a small price to pay to be able to spend the holidays with their family, relatives, and friends at home.
Lebaran is considered to be the most important day of the year when food plays a major role.
Most families usually serve up some traditional delicacies, such as rice boiled in plaited coconut leaves shaped into rhombus packets known as ketupat or lontong, rendang or spicy beef simmered in coconut milk and various local spices, opor ayam or chicken meat cooked in coconut milk, sambal goreng hati or fried ground up chilies blended with beef liver, and several other specialties.
Since food plays a vital role, the government has conducted market operations to stabilize the prices of food items during Ramadan and ahead of the Lebaran festivities.
The market operations are not only being conducted in Jakarta and its suburban areas but also across the country.
"The market operation is a measure to stabilize the prices and prevent hikes by supplying adequate food items to the markets," the minister stated during the launch of the market operations recently.
The market operation was being conducted in cooperation with the State Logistics Agency, the trade ministry, and the transportation ministry.
Commission IV on food affairs of the House of Representatives, during its inspection of the Kramat Djati wholesale market in East Jakarta, found that the prices were still fluctuating.
Commission IV Deputy Chairman Daniel Johan said his Commission has, therefore, called on the government to take strategic steps to resolve the issue.
"We found that the food prices were still fluctuating. The price of chili, for instance, had increased by some 100 percent compared to yesterday," Johan noted during a working visit to the wholesale market recently.
Johan affirmed that the government should be able to stabilize the prices and ensure the availability of stocks. In the short term, if the prices remain high, the government should launch market operations.
In order to ensure the availability of food stocks, Johan stated that the government should conduct impromptu inspections of all markets.(*)
