Mayor agrees on a new floating market in Banjarmasin

Banjarmasin, S Kalimatan (ANTARA) - The Mayor of Banjarmasin Ibnu Sina agrees on the idea of making the river front of Sungai Baru as a floating market in the city that especially opens in the afternoon.

The mayor said that the new floating market will make the place busy and lively. Sungai Baru itself is known as "Kampong of Ketupat". Ketupat is rice cake packed inside woven palm leaf pouch shaped like a diamond or commonly known as packed rice.

Floating market usually opens at the very early of the morning and the new floating market that opens at afternoon is considered to strengthen the tourism of the city. Whereas Banjarmasin is popularly known as the destination of river city tourism.

The river city of Banjarmasin has Kuin floating market at the suburb and Siring Tendean floating market inside the city.

"We'll see the readinees of acil acil jukung (floating market female hawkers) to activate here," said Ibnu Sina pointing out that Sungai Baru deserves to be the location of the new tourist destination after it made some arrangements thanks to maharagu sungai competition.

Previously, Head of Central Banjarmasin Sub-district Ibnu Sabil said to AntaranewsKalsel that he had a strong desire to make Sungai Baru as a location of floating market considering its strategic position in the city has an easy access both from the land and the river.

He estimated the activity migh be once a week at the beginning, to move to daily service when the market growing busy and busy.

The reason to choose Sunday afternoon, because acil jukung or female hawkers usually stop their activities at the Siring Tendean floating market at noon. They are expected to continue their selling activities in the afternoon here at the Sungai Baru waterfront.

Other alternative may be the local residents to do the selling activities first to attract buyers as well as to then attract acil jukung to come to join them.

However, he expected the floating market here to be different from that of Siring Tendean. If they usually sell vegetables and fruits, here at Sungai Baru hawkers are directed to mostly sell souvenirs and the Banjar specific culinary.