Borobudur Temple Being Cleaned of Mt. Kelud's Volcanic Ash

Magelang, C Java (Antara) - Hundreds of personnel and tourism society people are engaged in cleaning the Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, from volcanic ash spewed by Mount Kelud of East Java. "There are around 260 personnel cleaning the Borobudur of Mount Kelud's volcanic ash," Head of Borobudur Conservation Office Marsis Sutopo stated here on Monday. It will take several days to clean the world's largest Buddhist temple by the dry method using non-destructive tools such as broom stick and plastic shovels. The tools will be used to clean the ash sticking to the temple's floor, wall and other parts. "It will take a week to ten days to clean up the temple by the dry method. After that, we will spread water around the temple for the next three or four days," Sutopo added. Borobudur Temple has been closed since Friday (Feb. 13) due to the volcanic ash rain that was spewed from Mount Kelud, which erupted a day before. The temple had also been previously covered by volcanic ash from Mount Merapi, when it erupted in 2010. However, the characteristic of the volcanic ash from both the mountains is different. Merapi's ash was more acidic than the Kelud's. The high acidity level in the ash has a potential to ruin the temple's stone. Ash from Mount Kelud should be removed from the temple to prevent clogging in temple's drainage system as well as to avoiding damage to the temple's stones. The personnel and volunteers will also clean Pawon and Mendut Temples of the volcanic ash. (*) Reporting by M. Hari Atmoko