Bali as the prima donna of Indonesian tourism in the national and international arena has a myriad of interesting destinations. Not only about white sand beaches or magnificent temples full of religious values and artistic elements, but the Island of the Gods is also charming with various lake tours. One of the lakes in Bali is Yeh Melet Lake. Located in Karangasem, this lake offers a landscape of green hills connected with cool waters. Unfortunately, the unrealized normalization made Lake Yeh Melet Bali so quiet.
Yeh Lake Melt Past and Present
In fact, as stated by Sarianta, residents around Banjar Yeh Melet when it was still filled with water and was good, in the past, Lake Yeh Melet Bali was crowded with visitors. Tourist visits can reach 100 people in a day. However, since the siltation occurred and the water receded, tourists were no longer there. The condition of the lake is apprehensive with a stretch of shrubs and water hyacinth and weeds which are quite disturbing the view.
"In the past, when there was still water in a day, 100 tourists came, even the parking spaces were overwhelmed, but now there is nothing, the traders who previously sold are now closed," he said as quoted from secondsBali.
Normalization that doesn't happen
He said that the normalization of Lake Yeh Melet Bali had actually been planned for a long time, but so far it has not been realized. It is not known what caused the delay of the plan. He only believes that if normalization can be realized and can be completed, there will be a good impact on the economy of the Yeh Melet community and its surroundings. "I believe that if the normalization of Yeh Malet Lake is completed, it will greatly affect the economy of the Yeh Malet community, especially from the MSME sector," he explained.
The hope for the realization of Lake Yeh Melet in Bali was also shared by another resident of Banjar Dinas Yeh Melet, I Putu Wirawan. "If it is actually normalized and well-organized, it will certainly be an opportunity for tourism actors and also MSME actors so that they can improve the community's economy, especially for local communities," he said.
Regarding the efforts to normalize Yeh Melet Lake, Head of the PUPR and Perkim Office of Karangasem Regency, Wedasmara, said that normalization was the authority of the River Basin Center (BWS) and was a central program. However, his party admitted that they had been involved in the initial planning of the normalization. However, at the next stage of discussion, they are no longer involved.
"But the provisional information says that the DED (detail engineering design) has been completed, but regarding the budgeting that has not yet been carried out, so that normalization cannot be carried out, but regarding the details, we do not know for sure," he said again.
Hopefully, the normalization of Lake Yeh Melet Bali will be realized soon, so that it can be crowded again. More than that, the lake, which is said to have existed for a long time and has existed since the days of the kingdom, is expected to be a new alternative for tourists to see another side of Bali. (y)