he management of Mount Rinjani National Park on Lombok Island in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) plans to revamp the hiking facilities on the famed volcano following the earthquake that shook island.
The park’s management planned to provide better and safer facilities for hikers after the earthquake caused landslides that trapped hundreds of hikers on the mountain, said Environment and Forestry Ministry Natural Resources and Ecosystem Director General Wiratno.
The planned improvements include an online booking system, quotas to limit the number of hikers in the park at one time, waste management and CCTV and radio frequency identification to monitor hikers’ movements.
“The [planned] steps are in anticipation of hiking incidents. We plan to design a better evacuation system while also strengthening coordination among all policy makers and providing search and rescue training for those working in tourism such as guides, porters and trek organizers,” he said on Wednesday.
Following the powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked Lombok Island on Sunday, the directorate general that oversees national parks decided to close all hiking trails until further notice.
It would also conduct an evaluation on the safety of the hiking trails, alternative routes for evacuation and study the pattern of earthquake impacts on hiking activities, Wiratno added.
A joint team managed to evacuate 1,226 hikers comprising 696 foreigners and 530 Indonesians, during a three-day operation from Sunday to Tuesday. The emergency team will stay on alert in the park until Aug. 6. (rin)
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