The Indonesian government admitted on Wednesday that fires in at least 22 locations across Sumatra’s Riau province were responsible for the haze affecting local residents as well as neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.
Ahmad Saerozi, the head of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), told the Jakarta Globe that the fires were spreading rapidly over more than 800 hectares of plantation land.
“The smoke from the fire has reached Hang Nadim Airport [in Batam, Riau Islands] and also covers some parts of Singapore and Malaysia,” he said.
“We’ve been fighting the fires for 10 days, but they are moving from plantation to plantation. In the beginning, only around 200 hectares were affected.”
The worst location is a swath of more than 500 hectares located near Arara Abadi, an oil palm company owned by the Sinarmas Group in Bengkalis district, Riau.
The company, which claims to be innocent of any wrongdoing, has assigned six teams to work with government officials to prevent the fire spreading into its own plantation land.
In Rokan Hilir district on Riau’s east coast, fires swept through more than 200 hectares of land, while smaller plantations in Kampar district and Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, were also reportedly hit.
The BKSDA has assigned 14 teams to handle fires in 22 locations but is struggling to keep a lid on the outbreaks.
“They’re running from one location to another and it’s now beyond our ability to extinguish them,” Saerozi said. “The only possible way is with artificial rain.”
Raffles Panjaitan, the director of forestry investigations and observation at the Forestry Ministry, told the Globe that the government would coordinate with the National Disaster and Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on taming the fires.
“We’ve just had a meeting at the Foreign Ministry and agreed to create artificial rain with the BNPB,” he said.
“It’s difficult to douse the fires with ordinary methods because they’re not ground fires, but underground fires in peatland. So it should be extinguished with artificial rain.’’
Fire victims
The fires claimed a life in Rokan Hilir after a husband and wife were caught in a fire there, with the man later dying of burns.
“The husband did not survive the burn injuries he sustained, while the wife is in critical condition in a hospital in Rokan Hilir,” Saerozi said.
The smog is also posing problems for residents with latent health problems, causing one local heath agency to issue a public warning on Wednesday.
“The air quality in the city of Dumai is worsening to alarming levels, with air pollution at 293,” Marjoko Santoso, the head of the municipal health agency, said as quoted by Antaranews.com, referring to the Pollutant Standards Index. Any figure above 100 is considered unhealthy.
Marjoko said his agency had distributed 25,000 masks to residents to prevent respiratory infection and suggested people drink plenty of water.
He also suggested that people reduce their outdoor activities.
In Singapore, the haze has been choking residents with PSI readings reaching 155 on Monday night before peaking at 321 at 10 p.m., breaking the September 1997 record for the worst air quality.
Jeremy Koh, a producer with Mediacorp who lives in central Singapore, told the Globe that the haze was worst in the southern part of the island.
“It’s not terrible [in the central part], but you can tell the air quality is definitely not good because there’s a burnt smell in the air, and even the canteen at my workplace, which is air-conditioned, looks smoky,” Jeremy said.
“At this point in time, I’m more concerned about the heat than the haze, as temperatures have been consistently above 30 degrees for the past week, so that’s definitely more unbearable than the haze.”
He added that people were complaining about the haze on social media and the mainstream media.
“Some are saying that they’ve gotten asthma attacks because of the haze, others are complaining of teary eyes, coughs, etc,” he said.
“In the media, there have been calls on Indonesia to do something to stop the burning in Sumatra. There’s a bit of Indonesia bashing going on. People think Indonesia is not pulling its weight.”
Although people who wore masks got funny stares from others, sales of masks have apparently gone up, he said.
People are trying to stay indoors as much as they can and the military has reportedly cut down on outdoor activities.
Budi Jacobus, who lives on Fort Road in Singapore, told the Globe the haze had caused him to cough badly.
“I’ve run out masks and am using a handkerchief, thanks to Indonesia,” he said.
“If Indonesia sent us money, it would be a blessing, but sending us smoke only makes us suffer. Being a good neighbor, Indonesia should send good things instead of haze, which makes us ill.”
Budi said the air quality situation was worse in the evening, with electronic media announcing that the air pollution index had reached 170.
“As it has been higher than 150, the safety limit, students are sent home and schools are temporarily closed,” Budi said.
“People in my office were all upset about the haze as it happens every year. I heard the Singaporean government will offer to help the Indonesian government to extinguish the fire.”
Sources from The Star, http://www.thestar.com.my/
