The Yogyakarta Palace Changes The Sand Of The North Square, The Sand Is Selected Through The Sultanate's Internal Team

Illustration- Workers complete the construction of a fence foundation for the revitalization of the North Square area in Yogyakarta, Friday (12/6/2020). (BETWEEN PHOTOS/Andreas Fitri Atmoko/wsj.)

YOGYAKARTA - The Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Palace has replaced the sand in North Square, Yogyakarta City by starting the gradual excavation of assets belonging to the palace over the next four months.

"So far, there have been many activities that have caused the condition of the square to be less than ideal. The original material that composes the square, namely sand, has been mixed with many other materials," said Deputy Penghageng II Tepas Panitikisma Yogyakarta Palace, Suryo Satriyanto, as quoted by Antara, Thursday, 14 April.

According to him, the original material, namely sand in the North Square is mixed with many other materials because the activities carried out in the area are often not in line with the sustainability of the square and the drainage system is inadequate.

The land in North Square has begun to be excavated in stages since Sunday, April 3, 2022 and is expected to be completed in July 2022.

Since the breeding was carried out, according to him, there have been piles of objects that should not have been in the square, such as piles of garbage, banners, and concrete foundations for temporary activities that were held at that location.

"Therefore, returning the land of North Square to its original material, namely sand, is very important to maintain the glory and preservation of the Square as it should be," he said.

The sand that will be used to replace it is sand that comes from the land of the Sultanate and has gone through a process of selection and consideration by the internal team of the Sultanate.

"Before carrying out the excavation process, we have also held coordination meetings with various agencies and related agencies as well as the community around the sand extraction location," said Kanjeng Suryo.

According to Suryo, the sand that has been selected replaces the material currently in the North Square.

"The process is carried out alternately, we exchange the material in the square with the sand that we have chosen. Next, we use the material from the North Square to cover the former sand excavation in the sand extraction area," he said.

The process of revitalizing the square, according to him, is also a step of the palace in caring for Kagungan Dalem's assets as well as a form of support in realizing Yogyakarta as a World Heritage City.

"Including as one of the embodiments of the concept of maintaining and beautifying the beauty of the world, 'Memayu Hayuning Bawono'," he said.