Central Aceh Residents Walk To Lhokseumawe To Look For Rice

Roni and other residents walked with the burden of shopping for groceries from Lhokseumawe to Central Aceh, Friday (5/12/2025). ANTARA/HO-Resident

The people of Central Aceh traveled to Lhokseumawe City to look for rice because it was still isolated due to road access. The national road was cut after the flash flood and landslide disaster.

One of the residents of Takengon, Roni (43) said that he and his wife traveled full of challenges to Lhokseumawe just to buy rice and basic necessities, fuel and others.

"Previously we didn't cook at home for one day, nothing else. Finally we were forced to go shopping to Lhokseumawe," said Roni as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, December 8.

He said, after the disaster on Jalan KKA as the only closest access to Lhokseumawe City had been completely paralyzed. Many road points collapsed, eroded by floods and buried by landslides.

From Takengon, he rode a motorbike to Buntul Village, Permata District, Bener Meriah Regency, and left it at a resident's house by paying Rp. 10 thousand.

Then, he just walked from Buntul to Kem Village, Permata District, Bener Meriah, spending 2.5 hours away. And back more than five hours because it already carries a load.

"Then, from Kampung Kem, residents ride motorcycle taxis by paying Rp. 20,000 to Buntul Sara Ine Village, Permata District, Bener Meriah Regency," he said.

From there, he then changed the motorcycle taxi to go to the Mount Salak area. The tariff for motorcycle taxis from that place to the Lhokseumawe-Bener Meriah border is IDR 100,000.

"From there, the family picked them up directly to Lhokseumawe," he said.

Arriving at Lhokseumawe, Roni admitted that he stayed overnight at the family home. The next day, he immediately spent the need to take him home.

The main thing, he continued, was buying rice and fuel for fear that the impact of disasters in Central Aceh would still last a long time.

"What was bought was five sacks of rice, a total of 25 kilos. Then one tube of melon gas, one box of Indomie, three liters of cooking oil, three bottles of soy sauce, 10 liters of pertalite oil," he said.

The father of four children admitted that he was desperate to travel because he wanted to make sure the food stock for his family was safe during the disaster emergency.

During the trip, he also had to leave his four children in Takengon, entrusted to neighbors.

When he decided to go shopping to Lhokseumawe, said Roni, conditions in Takengon had already experienced a food crisis. Rice is no longer sold in the market, including fuel.

"If we just hope that the government can't help, don't eat our children at home. It's slow for this government to move," said Roni.