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Crop circle harmless, pa nuclear body says

The National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) confirmed Tuesday that a crop circle found in Jogotirto subdistrict, Berbah, Sleman, Yogyakarta, was harmless, not showing any signs of radiation

Slamet Susanto (The Jakarta Post)
Yogyakarta
Wed, January 26, 2011

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Crop circle harmless, pa nuclear body says

T

he National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) confirmed Tuesday that a crop circle found in Jogotirto subdistrict, Berbah, Sleman, Yogyakarta, was harmless, not showing any signs of radiation.

“We found no anomaly here,” Batan’s waste control subdivision head I Gede Sutrisna said after inspecting the site. “We have also checked the area for radiation and it’s clear. The crop circle is harmless.”

He said direct observation and measurement showed that rice plants around the crop circle did not show any sign of radiation either, although some had been destroyed.

Sutrisna could not confirm whether the crop circle was man-made. “We do not make any conclusions.

But one thing for sure is that there is no anomaly here and the radiation is zero,” he said.

Since it was discovered Sunday morning, the crop circle has received plenty of public attention.  

Thousands of people have flocked to the site from Monday afternoon to catch a glimpse of the circle.

Reportedly people were fainting at the site.

“I came here directly after picking my kid up from school,” said Ayi of Yogyakarta, who inspected the crop circle with his wife and child.

Another visitor, Nashir of Kotagede, Yogyakarta, said he had been at the site since Sunday morning taking pictures of the crop circle, but he found no human traces. He insisted that the possibility it was man-made was small.

“In the morning, dew drops around the area had not been disturbed, indicating no human had contributed to its creation. The rice plants, similarly, looked as if they had been twisted to the ground by wind,” said Nashir.

Locals used the phenomenon as a way to earn money by charging visitors a parking fee of Rp 2,000 (22 US cents) per vehicle. On Monday alone, they earned more than Rp 7 million.

On Tuesday, they offered visitors ladders so they had a clear view and could take pictures of the crop circle. They charged visitors Rp 2,000 to use this service while others sold drinks and snacks.

Since 1647 when a crop circle was first discovered unexpectedly in Britain, it has been considered a mysterious natural phenomenon that has incited controversy. No one has been able to deliver a clear explanation on how such a phenomenon occurs.

Another crop circle was also found in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Tuesday. The crop circle at Sri Martani village, Piyungan, was similar to the one found in Berbah but smaller in size. The diameter of the Berbah crop circle was 70 meters, while this one only reached 25 meters.

 

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