Antara 16 Jul 11;
Sampit, Central Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - The number of hotspots from forest and plantation fires in Kotawaringin Timur District, Central Kalimantan Province, is increasing.
From August 1 to 15, 2011, a total of 144 hotspots had been detected, Ian Septiawan, the head of the Kotawaringin Timur Nature Resource Conservation Office`s Conservation Section, said here on Tuesday.
Forest and plantation forest fires in Kotawaringin Timur were difficult to control and continued to increase in number, he said.
Some people cleared bushes and forest by setting fire to open new farming area, he said.
Septiawan estimated that the number of hotspots would continue rising if rains did not fall in few days to come.
"Haze coming from forest and plantation fires has covered Sampit City and surrounding areas, and it has disturbed the air and river traffics as well as the local people`s health," he said.
He hoped that the authorities would take legal action to stop the fires.
Harianto, the head of the Haji Asan Sampit airport`s flight security and safety section, said several flight schedules had to be postponed due to haze.
"For the sake of security and safety of passengers, we have to postpone several flight schedules until the runway is clear from haze," he said.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) will use cloud-seeding to put out forest fires in four provinces, according to a minister.
"Now the National Agency of Disaster Mitigation (BNPB) is working to tackle hotspots by using cloud-seeding," Environmental Affairs Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said in Jakarta recently.
During August 2011 alone, some 11,000 hotspots have been detected in Riau, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, he said.
According to the minister, the government has been committed to cutting the number of hotspots by 20 percent annually through preventive efforts.
(Uu.F001/HAJM/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
