The pain etched in an Indonesian farmer’s face has come to represent how Indonesians feel after a group of off-road motorcyclists allegedly ran over and flattened an edelweiss flower garden in West Java.
Making the rounds online are two videos depicting environmental destruction. In the first, we see hundreds of trail motorcyclists crossing through the Ranca Upas campground in Bandung Regency on Sunday.
In the other video, a local farmer named Uprit angrily addresses the off-road motorcyclists and officials who gave them permission to ride through the ground.
“Look at this. This is what’s left. It’s destroyed. Is it not? Open your eyes and look!” Uprit said to the camera while standing on top of edelweiss flowers flattened to the ground, allegedly by the motorcyclists.
According to Uprit, he had grown some 2,000 flowers at the site and now has to grow a new garden.
“These [edelweiss flowers] are rare. They require a long time to grow,” Uprit added.
In a video posted online, the organizers of the off-road event apologized for their “negligence,” which led to the environmental destruction.
Bandung Regent Dadang Supriatna said he strongly condemns the motorcyclists, who never obtained permission from the regency to ride at the site. As for the fact that the event sported the regency’s logo, Dadang claimed that the organizers of the event did so without the express approval of the administration.
Ranca Upas site managers said they were in over their heads and did not manage to contain the environmental damage as 1,600 off-roaders came to the event — much higher than the expected 700. Similar trail events were held at the site on two occasions in the past without any issue.
Meanwhile, Uprit’s smile has returned. In a follow up video posted on TikTok yesterday, he said that he has replanted new edelweiss flowers with assistance from state-owned forestry company Perhutani and environmental groups.
@mang_uprit_mangprang79 terimakasih untuk Perhutani, pecinta lingkungan, masyarakat, Ranca Upas, komunitas trail D Cexis beserta jajaran lain. @aguss_tm ♬ suara asli – Uprit mangprang
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