Kelud communities pray for a safe end

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 10/27/2007 4:29 PM

Indra Harsaputra and Jongker Rumteh, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, Manado

Communities around Mount Kelud on Friday held religious ceremonies to pray for a safe ending to the volcano's threats to erupt.

In Garum district, Blitar, hundreds of Hindu followers conducted the Bersih Desa purification ritual, which is aimed at cleansing the area of negative forces.

At the end of the ritual, they performed a joint prayer, asking the Almighty God to spare the villages around Mt. Kelud from a volcanic explosion.

""We ask God to protect and save all the people who reside in the villages around the mountain,"" said Suyoto, the head of the Garum chapter of Indonesian Hindu Parisadha.

He said the community had held a similar ritual prior to the 1990 eruption of Mt. Kelud.

""Fortunately, that eruption didn't claim any fatalities in this area,"" he said.

Religious ceremonies also took place in several other areas. In Nglegok district, Blitar, the Catholic and Protestant communities attended a joint prayer session. Meanwhile, local Muslims flocked to Blitar Grand Mosque to participate in a massive prayer gathering.

Separately, dozens of refugees were transported back to their shelters after receiving treatment at a local hospital following an outbreak of diarrhea.

At least 34 refugees, most of them children and babies, contracted the disease on Thursday night. All of them were residents of Sugihwaras village who had been evacuated to a shelter at Tawang village, Kediri.

""It was probably caused by the food or the sanitation problems in the shelter,"" physician Pramushinto said, as quoted by Antara.

A nine-month-old baby boy and a 69-year-old woman were still receiving intensive treatment at Pare hospital while 10 refugees were being treated at the Wates community health center.

Meanwhile, several refugees have already left the shelters and returned to their homes.

""Many people wanted to see the President, that's why many of them entered the shelter. Once the President left, they immediately returned home,"" a refugee, Karjono said.

Karjono and his family returned to his home in Sugihwaras village on Friday. He said they were bored in the refugee shelter.

""And many of our fellow villagers still believe in the words of our elders and the juru kunci (traditional custodian) of Mt. Kelud. They said Mt. Kelud wouldn't erupt,"" he said.

Eyang Kuswanto, 61, a spiritual figure in Blitar, says the eruption will not take place for at least seven months and by mid-2008 at the latest.

On the other hand, the government's Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) said it would not downgrade Mt. Kelud's alert status in the next few days.

""It was a misleading information. Mt. Kelud is still on Awas (highest alert status),"" head of PVMBG, Surono said.

""The correct information is that in the next three or four days we will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the condition of Mt. Kelud,"" he added.

Meanwhile, authorities have declared Mt. Soputan to be on Siaga (the second highest alert status) following an eruption on Thursday.

""Based on that volcanic activity, we have issued the Siaga status,"" Mt. Soputan observation post official Jemy Runtuwene said.

As of Friday, volcanic activity in Mt. Soputan had decreased significantly.

""There haven't been any reported casualties. And, as far as I know, the volcanic activity didn't cause any evacuation of the surrounding villages,"" he added.

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