Bahorok resort reopens after 8 months

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan

The Bukit Lawang tourist area in Bahorok district, North Sumatra, has reopened to the public after being closed for eight months following a flash flood in December that left over 180 people dead and 80 missing.

Langkat Vice Regent Yunus Saragih released three orangutans into the wild and planted young meranti trees around the resort to mark its reopening on Saturday.

Residents in the area hailed the reopening, although much of the infrastructure in the area is still in bad shape, including the main road leading to Bahorok, which is badly potholed.

The residents said they were happy as they could now reopen their businesses in the resort.

Most of the people living in Bukit Lawang are vendors selling food, beverages and handicrafts. Many also provide cheap tourist accommodation.

A local community figure, Mujeni, said the residents had wanted the resort to be reopened earlier as many foreign tourists had continued to visit Bukit Lawang, unaware that it was closed.

"When they came here, they always asked when Bukit Lawang would be reopened. They wanted it to be reopened as quickly as possible so that they could visit the orangutan rehabilitation center. It is these sort of tourists who make our businesses prosper," Mujeni said.

The vice regent said the government had banned residents from renovating structures or erecting new ones within a distance of 100 meters on either side of the river.

The ban was issued to prevent the possibility of more disasters as there were still many logs in the upstream area that could be propelled downstream during flooding, with disastrous consequences, Yunus explained.

He said the local government was planning to build 354 low- cost houses on a 14-hectare site for the victims of the December flood.

The central government recently allocated Rp 25 billion (US$2.8 million) for the Bahorok victims so that they could rebuild their homes and damaged facilities.

The director of the Mount Leuser National Park management board, Hartlamas Susetyo, said that based on routine surveys, there were currently at least 237 orangutans in Bukit Lawang.

Of the 20 orangutans in the resort's quarantine area, three were infants. "They are in good shape and are under continuous observation," he said.