BANGLI ~ Local residents are continuing to illegally use the protected forest area surrounding Mount Batur, Bangli Police said this week.

There were now agricultural fields, semi-permanent housing near Jati Temple and an excavation site within the boundaries of the protected area, Bangli Police chief I Nengah Kariasa said.

He said that after receiving information about the illegal usage of the land, his team went directly to an area near Tampurhyang Temple where digging was reported.

His team found a large-scale operation there and an even larger site in Toyabunkah, where trucks were removing sand without permission from the government, said the police chief.

According to information from local citizens, permission had been given by the village to remove sand from the area, but when asked for a permission letter, no one could produce one.

“The digging was immediately stopped and locals have been told that they must have government permission before continuing any of this type of activity within protected forest areas,” Kariasa said.