Indonesia: Persistent haze grounds flights, shuts schools

Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 15 Oct 14;

Several flights from Batam in the Riau Islands to Jambi and Pekanbaru in Riau were canceled on Tuesday as thick haze was still covering the airports in both cities.

“Almost every airline wished to avoid the risk and preferred to delay and cancel their flights. This has had an impact on incoming and outgoing flights in Batam,” Hang Nadim International Airport’s flight safety head Indah Irwansyah said in Batam on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news portal.

The haze also caused uncertainty to the education system in a number of regencies in Jambi. The West Tanjung Jabung regency administration for example, has suspended school since Monday because of the poor air quality in the regency.

When contacted on Tuesday, West Tanjung Jabung Education Agency secretary Hartono said his office had not yet decided how long the suspension period would last because it was still coordinating with the local Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and the Health Office, according to Antara.

“We are waiting for instructions. If the conditions improve, school activities will resume,” he said.

Separately, Batanghari Regent Sinwan also instructed that school be suspended on Monday and Tuesday.

In a desperate move to tackle the haze, thousands of residents wearing masks performed the Istisqa prayer to ask for rain at the South Sumatra provincial administration office in Palembang on Tuesday.

Governor Alex Noerdin said the prayer was performed since the haze in the province was worsening despite various efforts to extinguish forest fires, including by using aerial water bombings and weather modification technology. The haze in the province, which recorded a record number of hotspots in Sumatra this week, was believed to have recently caused a fatal road accident on the inter-province highway in Musirawas regency.

Musirawas Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Nurhadi Handayani on Tuesday said motorist Budi Santosa of Muara Kelingi subdistrict collided head-on on a straight stretch of road with a Daihatsu Xenia van driven by Fazni Zehan, 25.

Budi died on the way to the nearest community health clinic from severe head injuries.

As the haze started to cover the Padang Pariaman regency, West Sumatra, police in the region also urged motorcyclists and motorists to be cautious while driving.

“The haze has blanketed Padang Pariaman, so members of the public must be careful while driving their vehicles on the road,” said Padangpariaman Traffic Police chief Adj. Comr. Teuku Heri Hermawan in Pariaman on Tuesday.

In Riau, despite the poor quality of air, acting Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi “Andi” Rachman has not declared a health-related state of emergency in the province.

Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Said Saqlul Amri said that, as a preventive measure, the Riau provincial administration would set aside Rp 31 billion (US$2.6 million) next year for the procurement of firefighting equipment and pay the salaries of the members of the Disaster-Alert Society (MSB). According to the plan, each village and district will be equipped with five MSB members.

“The MSB members are recruited especially to act in response to the haze disaster. They will be posted in all the districts and villages in Riau to prevent and extinguish even the smallest fire,” said Said.