Palembang residents complain about haze`s bad smell

Antara 24 Sep 09;

Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Palembang city residents are complaining about the unpleasant smell of haze which has spread in the area for the last one month.

The haze occurs every afternoon or night causing eye sores and filling the air with an unpleasant odor, Ridwan, a local resident said, adding it was the smell of burned bush or vegetation.

"I think the haze comes from land fires in several parts of South Sumatra, namely Ogan Komering Ilir, Ogan Ilir, Ogan Komering Ulu, Banyuasin, Musi Banyuasin, Lahat and Prabumulih city," he said.

He said he hoped the government would find a solution to the land fires problem and suggested that local authorities hold meetings with farmers to counsel them on the importance of clearing land for plantations without burning bushes or forests.

Tens of hectares of bushes caught fire in Mulak and Kota Agung subdistricts, Lahat District, South Sumatra Province, during the past one month.

The bushes covered an area located between human settlements and plantations.
The area was very dry as no rain had fallen on it for the past three months, Solihin, a resident of Mulak Ulu village, Lahat, said.

The worst affected areas are Mulak Ulu and Mulak Ilir villages which border on forests in the Bukit Barisan region, he said.

"More than 20 hectares of forest area have been gutted by fire during the current dry season," he said.

South Sumatra province has around 1,483,662 hectares of peatland prone to fire.
To prevent fires, local authorities had intensified monitoring and campaigns to inform the public not to clear land by burning bushes, Sigit Wibowo, head of the South Sumatra provincial forestry service, said in Palembang recently. (*)