TEMPO.CO 6 Oct 15;
Jakarta-Deputy Speaker of the House Agus Hermanto urged the government to declare the haze disaster in Sumatra and Kalimantan as a national disaster. He said, the government does not seem serious in handling the recurring problem.
“By declaring it a national disaster, it can be handled nationally," he stated in the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Monday, October 5.
According to Agus, that the government’s downplaying the problem is seen when some officials trying to gain popularity in the media rather than work.
The Democratic Party politician believed that by declaring it a national disaster the government need not be ashamed to ask assistance from neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore. “The neighbors just want to help. Do not be shy to coordinate," he said.
According to data from the Bureau of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), based on Terra and Aqua satellites observations, there are 254 hotspots in Sumatra. According to the Head of BMKG station Pekanbaru, Sugarin, South Sumatra is the highest contributing area with 178 points, followed by Lampung 26 points, 24 points in Bengkulu and Jambi 18 points. The haze also spread to neighboring countries, Singapore and Malaysia.
Responding to the pressure, the government is determined to target the problem of haze to be completed this month. Cabinet Secretary Pramono Agung said land fire fighting can be quickly completed in October because of the rainy season.
“For the fire fighting to be effective, President Joko Widodo instructed the fire fight to not stop during the rainy season," said Pramono at Palace Complex, on Monday.
According to information obtained, said Pramono, the number of fires decreased although the smoke still continue to exist, for example in Riau and Jambi. The President also asked the local government to prepare canals with dikes, especially in peat, so the peatland becomes continually wet.
About the help from Singapore, Pramono said that Indonesia is considering it. According to him, the consideration to received help from Singapore is the empathy factor to the neighboring countries.
According to him, the issue of haze is now not only an issue in Indonesia. "The human factor is not our problem alone. Neighbors are affected and we also need to empathize," he said.
National Disaster: Indonesian Lawmaker Urges Action on Haze
Hotman Siregar Jakarta Globe 6 Oct 15;
Jakarta. A House of Representatives special committee is needed to ensure the executive branch does all it can to mitigate the choking haze that continues to blanket Sumatra and Kalimantan, a lawmaker has said, calling the crisis a national disaster.
Lukman Edy, a deputy speaker at the House's Commission II covering governance, said such a committee is necessary to investigate the hundreds of companies whose concession areas have been burned as well as the executive's decision not to declare the haze a national disaster — despite more than 300,000 people having been treated for respiratory issues, the disruption of flights on a large scale, and souring relations with Malaysia and Singapore, which are also gravely affected.
“The National Disaster Mitigation Agency [BNPB] directly reports to the president. Therefore we need to ask ... why they still have not declared this as a national disaster,” Lukman said on Tuesday.
“I do not see any coordination between the Ministry of Home Affairs and local governments,” he continued, adding that the governors and district heads of affected areas have been slow to respond to the issue.
The Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that more than 300,000 cases of respiratory illnesses have been recorded since the dry season began in June.
South Sumatra, which has a significantly higher population than Indonesia's other five provinces affected by the haze, also has the largest number of cases recorded at 83,276. Conversely, the sparsely populated province of South Kalimantan has the least, with 29,104 cases to date.
Combined, the six provinces, which also include Riau, Jambi, West and Central Kalimantan, have recorded a whopping 307,360 cases as of Monday.
According to the ministry, South Sumatra also has the highest level of air pollution. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reached 880 there on Tuesday, which is considered hazardous.
Meanwhile, air pollution levels in West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan have improved to the healthy and mild ranges of 44.16 and 55.46 respectively.
Health issues are on the rise, as the haze has been attributed to consequential respiratory and eye infections.
Additionally, the prolonged drought, which has caused wells to dry up, has also led to other health issues such as outbreaks of dysentery.
Haze hurting education, say worried authorities
Rizal Harahap and Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 6 Oct 15;
The authorities in haze-afflicted regions of Sumatra are striving to mitigate the negative affects on education, with students forced to stay at home for the best part of a month.
“The students have been staying at home too long. We’re now telling them to come to school every Monday and Thursday to catch up with the lessons missed when the schools were temporarily shut down,” Pekanbaru Education Agency head Zulfadil said on Monday.
Zulfadil said his agency had decided to reopen schools up to senior high level twice a week while waiting for the air quality in the city to improve.
However, classes were limited to two hours a day: from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for students of morning classes and from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for students of afternoon classes, he said.
As such, Zulfadil said, teachers were required to make classes as effective as possible by explaining only the learning modules during the classes and giving assignments for the students to do at home and hand in during the subsequent class.
“The emphasis is therefore on setting assignments to catch up with missing lessons,” he said.
To minimize the impacts of the haze on the students’ health, all students in Pekanbaru have been instructed to put on masks before they leave home and to keep them on during class. Schools with air-conditioning systems, meanwhile, have been granted dispensation to hold classes every day. “But the headmasters have to guarantee the health of their students while at school,” Zulfadil said.
With many classes missed as a result of the haze, semester examinations have been postponed, also allowing time for students to catch up.
The decision to open limited classes has sparked debate; those who agree say that sending students home is pointless, as they continue to play outside.
Others, however, have accused the education agency of panicking ahead of the approaching examination season.
“The schools were temporarily shut down because of health considerations. Are those considerations no longer valid?” asked Darman, a parent of an elementary school pupil in Pekanbaru.
Darman added that obliging students to put on masks at school was not effective as most elementary school students disliked using them. “They can’t stand wearing a mask for long because it makes it difficult to breathe,” he said.
In Jambi city, meanwhile, schools have been closed for the last three weeks because of haze that has degraded the air quality in the region.
City administration secretary Daru Pratomo said that students had been sent home in consideration of the low air quality and its impact on pupil’s health.
“We evaluate the air quality every day with relevant agencies,” Daru said on Monday.
Thick smog from land and forest fires has reportedly also plagued participants of the Tour de Singkarak international cycling race in West Sumatra, which entered its third stage on Monday.
“If masks are distributed I’ll definitely put one on. My throat starts to hurt when I cycle through thick haze,” cyclist Budi Santoso of East Java’s Banyuwangi Racing Cycling Club told The Jakarta Post prior to the race’s start on Monday.
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb contributed to this story from Dharmasraya, West Sumatra.
As Haze Stays, Over 300,000 Respiratory Cases Recorded
Jakarta Globe 6 Oct 15;
Jakarta. As parts of Indonesia remain blanketed by thick haze, the Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that more than 300,000 cases of respiratory illnesses have been recorded since the dry season began in June.
South Sumatra, which has a significantly higher population than Indonesia's other five provinces affected by the haze, also has the largest number of cases recorded at 83,276. Conversely, the sparsely populated province of South Kalimantan has the least, with 29,104 cases to date.
Combined, the six provinces, which also include Riau, Jambi, West and Central Kalimantan, have recorded a whopping 307,360 cases as of Monday.
According to the ministry, South Sumatra also has the highest level of air pollution. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reached 880 there on Tuesday, which is considered hazardous.
Meanwhile, air pollution levels in West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan have improved to the healthy and mild ranges of 44.16 and 55.46 respectively.
“The average number of patients seeking treatment at health facilities has risen by 15 to 20 percent in the last three weeks. The conditions will [continue to] worsen if the haze [doesn't extinguish] soon,” Health Minister Nila Moeloek told a press conference on Tuesday.
Health issues are on the rise, as the haze has been attributed to consequential respiratory and eye infections. Additionally, the prolonged drought, which has caused wells to dry up, has also led to other health issues such as outbreaks of dysentery.
Nila said the Health Ministry has deployed 27,595 tons worth of medicine and equipment to the six provinces as well as two other neighboring provinces, including face masks, oxygen tanks, medications, eye drops and vitamins.
Satellites detect 63 hotspots in C. Kalimantan
Antara 6 Oct 15;
Photo document of Terra and Aqua satellites hotspot in Indonesia on Monday (October 5, 2015). (satelit.bmkg.go.id)
Maura Teweh (ANTARA News) - The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 63 hotspots in North Barito, Murung Raya, and South Barito Districts, Central Kalimantan, on Tuesday morning.
The number increased from that on Monday, Aswaludin, secretary of te Muara Teweh Conservation Sections Fire Brigade, said here Tuesday.
North Barito has 31 hostpsots, Murung Raya 30, and South Barito two, he said.
Sunardi, head of the Muara Teweh Meteorology Office, said the haze shrouding the districts has thickened and reduced visibility to 100 meters, from 600 meters on Monday.
(Uu.F001)
