TNBTS Center To Replace Ganesha's Lost Arca On Mount Bromo

The new Ganesha statue, which is placed on the edge of the crater of Mount Bromo, is in Probolinggo Regency, East Java. (ANTARA/HO-Humas TNBTS Center)

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Center (BB TNBTS) replaced the Ganesha statue located on the edge of the crater of Mount Bromo, Probolinggo Regency, East Java, which was previously reported missing on May 17, 2023. Head of Administration Section of the TNBTS Center Septi Eka Wardhani said the placement of the new Ganesha statue was placed in the same place on the edge of the crater of Mount Bromo. "Arca Ganesha has been replaced with a new one, in the same place by carrying out a simple ritual," said Septi in Malang City, East Java, Antara, Monday, June 5. Septi explained that the deployment of the new Ganesha statue had been carried out on June 2, 2023 at approximately 00.35 WIB. This time was chosen as the best time based on the instructions of the Tengger tribe's ancestors. According to him, when installing the new Ganesha statue, several members of Parisada Hindu Dharma Indoensia (PHDI) were handed over by Father Dukun Keto, from the Tosari District, Pasuruan Regency. "The placement at that time was chosen as a good time based on ancestral instructions," he said. The Ganesha statue, he continued, was imported from the Trowulan District, Mojokerto Regency, East Java. The new statue has a high dimension of approximately 50 centimeters, a width of 50 centimeters and a weight of approximately 25 kilograms. "It is hoped that the nature and culture of the Tengger community will be preserved," he said. Some time ago, Arca Ganesha, which is located on the edge of the crater of Mount Bromo which is included in the Probolinggo Regency area, was reported missing. The statue, previously located approximately 50 meters from the lip ladder of Mount Bromo. The missing statue is made of cor cement installed by the people of Ngadisari Village, Probolinggo Regency in 2012. The dimension of the missing statue is more or less the same as the new statue that has now been installed. At that time, the Probolinggo Resort Police (Polres) had investigated the incident of the disappearance of the Ganesha statue. Based on the results of the crime scene (TKP), the police concluded that the statue fell into the crater of Mount Bromo.

The Mount Bromo area is one of the leading tourist destinations in East Java. In 2022, it was recorded that 318,919 tourists were visited, divided into 310,418 domestic tourists and 8,501 foreign tourists. Of the total number of tourist visits to Bromo throughout 2022, there was Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) reaching Rp11.65 billion, which increased when compared to the previous year which was Rp4.85 billion.