Route to Puncak to be closed for 10 days

JABODETABEK - JAKARTA. The route to Puncak resort area in Bogor, West Java, will be closed for at least 10 days starting Wednesday to handle landslides in the area, an official has said.

The Transportation Ministry’s land transportation director general Budi Setyadi said it required 10 days or more to clean up debris from the landslides that hit the mountainous area on Monday. Therefore, all vehicles cannot pass through the roads, except motorbikes for matters of urgency.

“[The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s geology department] has found [that the structure] of the road deep down is porous. So, for 10 days, the route from Gunung Mas intersection in Bogor to Ciloto in Cianjur subdistrict will be closed,” Budi said on Tuesday.

He added that after 10 days they would evaluate whether the response was sufficient.

To close the road temporarily, the ministry will issue a regulation.

Meanwhile, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said six spots were hit by landslides in the Puncak area.

Landslides in several areas of Bogor regency on Monday resulted in one death, while four people sustained injuries and three others remain missing.