- VIVA/Anwar Sadat
VIVA – The day of Eid al-Fitr has fallen on Monday, May 2, 2022. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, finally, the government allowed people to do homecoming with certain conditions. The tradition of homecoming has become Indonesian culture ahead of Eid.
Many people do homecoming before Eid al-Fitr comes, not a few people are also going home on Eid's day.
This homecoming trip is also crowded. Many traffic jams on several toll roads. On public transportation, there are also many passengers who want to visit their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their big family.
President Joko Widodo or known as Jokowi has urged the travelers to go back from their hometowns early. This appeal from the President is preventing the travelers of homecoming from traffic jams on toll roads, national roads and ports such as Merak-Bakauheni.
“This homecoming on Eid al-Fitr in 2022 Lebaran is done by many people, that's why I urge people who go home from their hometowns to do it early. Don’t do it on Saturday or Sunday to avoid traffic jams on toll roads, national roads, and ports at Merak-Bakauheni," said President Jokowi in a post on Instagram of the Indonesian President's account on Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
It is known that Eid al-Fitr’s Homecoming will be carried out by at least 85.5 million people. In addition, there are 23 million cars and 17 million motorcycles used to travel homecoming this year.
Even though there are a lot of traffic jams everywhere, the celebration of homecoming during Eid this year can still run very well.
"The homecoming flow is also smooth, although there are some obstacles, such as queues at Merak and Bakauheni ports," the account uploaded.
Although there are obstacles, the Indonesian government quickly handles that problem by adding ships from 30 ships to approximately 50 ships. However, this is still not enough to accommodate the enthusiasm of travelers of homecoming to welcome this year's Eid al-Fitr.
“The ships have increased from the 30's to the 50's but it's also not enough. I think the dock still needs to be added,” he said.
