Villagers demand public transportation<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
At least 7,000 residents of Sukawangi village in Bogor, some 60
\nkilometers south of Jakarta, have demanded proper access and
\nregular transportation to and from their village to facilitate
\ntheir daily activities and business.<\/p>\n
Villagers here need access to transportation to sell their
\nagricultural products, to shop for their daily needs, and to
\nobtain proper medical services.<\/p>\n
Sukawangi village, which was hit by a landslide last Thursday,
\nlies on the slopes of Selawangi Mountain, some 100 kilometers
\nfrom Bogor.<\/p>\n
Although half of the road connecting Sukawangi and Bogor is
\nalready asphalted, no public transportation is available.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the condition of the road leading to another busy
\nmarket in Cipanas area, where they can get supplies for their
\ndaily needs and sell their products, is very poor with no
\nasphalted roads and no proper public transportation, either.<\/p>\n
At present, they sell their products to the markets in
\nCipanas. And to do so, they have to hire workers to carry their
\ngoods on their shoulders, walking tens of kilometers up and down
\nover the hilly and rough path.<\/p>\n
A worker's fee is Rp 250 (about three US cents) for every
\nkilogram he carries on his shoulders.<\/p>\n
Entin, 35, a villager who runs a small kiosk providing basic
\ngoods in the village, shops for her kiosk's supplies once a week
\nat markets in Puncak, Cipanas.<\/p>\n
She has to spend at least Rp 120,000 just on transportation.<\/p>\n
"First, I have to take an ojek (motorcycle taxi) to Arca
\nvillage. It costs me Rp 30,000. Then I spend another Rp 30,000
\nfor a public minivan to continue the journey to Puncak," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Dadang also voiced the same complaint, "It costs me Rp 60,000
\nto get to the Sukamakmur district office by ojek. Even to reach
\nthe nearest asphalted road by ojek, we have to spend Rp 20,000."<\/p>\n
Due to the poor access to transportation to distribute their
\nproducts, the farmers have to pay an extra Rp 63 million every
\nyear, according to Dadang, the head of Sukawangi village.<\/p>\n
The village harvests tons of a wide variety of products and
\ncommodities including rice, vegetables, bananas, coffee beans,
\nginger, and cloves.<\/p>\n
"Every year, the farmers sell 400 tons of ginger, 80 tons of
\ncoffee beans, and 25 tons of cloves to the markets in Cipanas
\narea," Dadang said.<\/p>\n
The village chief, however, did not state the villagers gross
\nrevenue from the sale of their products.<\/p>\n
The poor transportation facilities also creates difficulties
\nfor village residents who fall ill.<\/p>\n
As there is no community health center (Puskesmas) available
\nthere, a resident who falls sick will need others' help to carry
\nhim or her on a stretcher made from a sarong to the nearest
\nhospital in Cianjur regency, West Java.<\/p>\n
"If the transportation problem is solved, many of the
\nresidents' other problems would be solved too ... They could
\neasily sell their products to Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur," said
\nDadang.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/villagers-demand-public-transportation-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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