Ornamental Plants in Maguwoharjo's New Park Become Regular Target for Thieves
Ornamental plants in a median park on the road leading to Maguwoharjo Stadium in Depok, Sleman, have been stolen. The Sleman Environmental Agency (DLH) will now replace them with more economical plants.
News of the missing plants spread on social media after being uploaded by the Instagram account @merapi_uncover. The post included a photo of a partially barren park median.
“Please approve, admin… I am a park officer wanting to report that on the Maguwoharjo Stadium road, the new park’s plants are often stolen by irresponsible people. This is not the first or second time,” read the caption on the post, seen by detikJogja on Wednesday (24/6).
Asked for confirmation, the Head of the Sleman Environmental Agency, Junaidi, confirmed the incident. According to him, the stolen plants were varieties such as Yellow Broccoli and Taiwan Beauty.
“Those are quite popular. They often go missing everywhere, but indeed, it’s simply because they are attractive,” Junaidi explained when contacted today.
“The price is actually normal, whether it’s considered expensive or not depends. But it is slightly more expensive compared to others,” he continued.
Junaidi admitted that his agency is having difficulty finding the perpetrators. Therefore, he is thinking of ways to prevent similar incidents from recurring. One solution is to replace them with more economical ornamental plants.
“Finding who stole them is rather difficult, but what the DLH will do is continue to replace the lost plants,” Junaidi explained.
“Since the ones being stolen are certainly the attractive ones, perhaps we will replace them with plants that are considered unattractive so they won’t be stolen again,” he added.
Furthermore, Junaidi said his party will also coordinate with other Regional Apparatus Organisations (OPD) to prevent the incident from happening again. This includes coordinating with the Communication and Information Agency regarding the possibility of installing CCTV in the area.
“We coordinate across OPDs to further reduce the potential for continuous theft, for instance, by having patrols visit the area. This includes coordination with the Kapanewon (district) and Kalurahan (village),” he stated.
“Actually, it’s not just in that location. It has happened before in other places. And the plants that go missing are almost the same type,” he concluded.