Victims of Bahorok flood want torist resort reopened
Victims of Bahorok flood want torist resort reopened
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan
Hundreds of Bahorok flood victims continued protesting here on
Tuesday to demand clarification over some Rp 50 billion (US$6
million) in assistance promised by the central government for
them last year.
They also urged the government to reopen the Bukit Lawang
resort in Bahorok district, Langkat regency, North Sumatra, which
was closed after a flash flood swept through the town on Nov. 2,
2003, leaving over 180 people dead and 80 others unaccounted for.
The protest was held at the North Sumatra Legislative Council,
where representatives of the protesters met with senior
legislators.
They staged a similar rally at the North Sumatra gubernatorial
office on Monday, but they were not received by any official.
Governor T. Rizal Nurdin eventually scheduled a meeting with
their representatives at his office on Wednesday.
The flood victims, who have been in Medan for two days, said
they were extremely disappointed with Rizal's leadership due to
the delay in rebuilding the devastated tourist area.
They urged the province's legislative council to immediately
summon the governor over the delay.
In a response to the demands, the council's Commission V head
Ronald Naibaho told the protesters that he would try his best to
fight for the people's aspirations, so Bukit Lawang could be
reopened soon.
He said the demands would be discussed during a meeting with
the governor and Langkat Regent Syamsul Arifin on Wednesday.
"We promise to mediate in the meeting and urge the
administration to act on their (the protesters') request
immediately," Ronald said.
When asked to confirm the central government's promised aid of
Rp 50 billion, Syamsul claimed that up to now, only Rp 25 billion
of the total amount had been transferred to the Langkat regental
administration.
"The money is still intact in the regency's coffers. We have
not disbursed it because we're still waiting for instructions
from the central government. The matter is still being discussed.
We hope the funds will be well managed," he added.
A community leader from Bahorok, Alamsyah, accused the
government of trying to shun local people in developing the
resort in favor of large-scale projects.
Citing an example, he said the reconstruction plan for the
area -- which was set forth by the regional infrastructure agency
recently, could have a hidden agenda.
The concept was deliberately designed to pursue funds for
large-scale projects in the area, he added.
"The concept has been approved by the central government and
Rp 25 billion has been provided, but several months have passed
without any action on the project," he told The Jakarta Post.
Bahorok district head Yusmalina said tourist arrivals at the
resort have been on the rise in the last few weeks.
Dozens of foreign tourists visited the area each week, while
domestic tourist arrivals could reach the hundreds, he added.
She expressed concern that the uncertain status of the area
could affect tourist-related businesses there.