Blusukan Fajr-buh Watch The Phenomenon Of Upas Dew, Puan Maharani Encourages Infrastructure Development In Dieng

Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani (Photo: DOK DPR RI)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, visited the Dieng area, Wonosobo, Central Java. During the visit, Puan had breakfast at the Wonosobo Main Market, Sunday, August 27. The Main Market is an area of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which is quite well known in the area. The bread at this location is made using charcoal so that it presents an interesting taste. "This burning battery is open from dawn, and is a pretty famous home processed product. Hopefully more MSME products can expand their business, thereby improving the economy of the surrounding community," said Puan in an electronic message received in Jakarta, Sunday afternoon. After breakfast, Puan, who was accompanied by the Regent of Wonosobo, Afif Nurhidayat, immediately visited the Dieng area because she was curious about the phenomenon of upas dew that often appeared in Dieng during the dry season. The phenomenon of upas dew is often viral and usually appears early in the morning in the Dieng area, especially in Wonosobo. Although the visuals look so beautiful, upas dew can threaten the survival of potato plants. The name of the upas is pinned from a tree whose sap is known to be toxic. Puan witnessed the emergence of an upas dew phenomenon resulting from cool air temperatures that made her freeze resembling the snow right from the front of Arjuna Temple. "We are grateful to be able to enjoy the fresh air here. Air like this cannot be enjoyed in the capital city. Here we can see natural phenomena that even though they look beautiful, have a negative side to potato plants,” he said. After traveling to enjoy the beauty of Arjuna Temple, Puan took the time to stop at one of the souvenir stalls in the area. Puan came to Sumarsih's kiosk and bought some of Dieng's signature souvenirs, such as Carica Sumbing Segar, Dendeng Gepuk and Kacang Dieng. While shopping, Puan chatted with the kiosk owner. He asked about the sale of souvenirs in the Dieng area, considering that not a few local people depend on their livelihoods by trading typical souvenirs from the tourist area. "How is the sale, ma'am?" asked Puan to the kiosk owner. "Alhamdulillah, ma'am, Saturday is crowded. Only if the day is usually quiet," said Sumarsih. "How much is the profit a day?" Puan asked again. "If Saturday Sunday can get 300 thousand net profit," explained Sumarsih. After shopping, the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture walked about 2.5 km through a fairly steep road from under the Sikunir Crater to Sikarim Falls. On the way, Puan said that the Dieng area deserves to be a National Geopark because it has many tourist attractions ranging from temples, craters to waterfalls that present beautiful views. "Currently, infrastructure development in the Dieng area needs to be improved again. So that it supports the development of tourist areas in the Dieng area so that it becomes more and more a destination for local and foreign tourists," said Bung Karno's grandson. “ Improvement of infrastructure can also support the development of MSMEs which are expected to improve the economy of the local community, especially those in the Dieng area, ” continued Puan. Meanwhile, the Regent of Wonosobo, Afif Nurhidayat, is grateful for Puan's presence to review the Dieng area. He asked for Puan's support as Chairman of the DPR for the Dieng area which is being developed into a National Geopark. "I am happy that Mbak Puan can visit here, this is proof of her support to change this area into a National Geopark. In addition, we together with the Banjarnegara Regional Government are asking the status of the National Geopark to the central government. Hopefully this 2023 can be realized," said Afif. The application for National Geopark status is proposed because the Dieng area has a unified cultural diversity, biodiversity, and cultural diversity in it. Afif added that currently the Dieng area is undergoing revitalization since July 2023 which is targeted for completion on July 18, 2024. "Wonosobo wants to be a tourist area. Wonosobo tourism is Dieng. Now we are revitalizing at several destination points, related to infrastructure," he said. The revitalization complex that is included in the Wonosobo area is the Telaga Warna, Siberanya and Sembungan tourist complex. Meanwhile, Banjarnegara will revitalize the Arjuna Temple complex, Sikidang Crater, and the Aswatama complex.

Regarding access to Dieng, Afif also explained that the road to Dieng from Yogyakarta International Airport is being repaired to support tourists who want to go to the Dieng area. "We are also intermitting events in Borobudur with Dieng tourism. So tourists to Borobudur can connect to the Dieng area," Afif concluded.