Jokowi felt obligated to visit Central Kalimantan due to the haze emergency situation in the province, Ari Dwipayana of the presidential communication team noted in a statement, Thursday.
"Initially, after performing the Idul Adha prayers at Al-Karomah Grand Mosque in Banjar District, South Kalimantan, on Sept. 24, 2015, the president along with First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo and his entourage would have proceeded to North Sumatra," Dwipayana noted.
However, instead, they visited Kapuas and Pulang Pisau Districts near the border with South Kalimantan Province.
The head of state felt the need to personally observe the forest and plantation fires that have led to the haze emergency status.
He also wanted to ensure that every stakeholder in the province had participated in the efforts to put out the fires.
In the meantime, several hotspots detected in East Kotawaringin (Kotim) District, Central Kalimantan Province, increased significantly to 241 on Tuesday morning (Sept. 22), from only 20 hotspots recorded on the previous day.
"There were 241 hotspots in Kotim on September 22, at 5 a.m. local time," Yulida Warni, the head of the meteorology office at the Haji Asan Airport in Sampit, remarked.
The hotspots were spread across 15 sub-districts in Kotim, and only two sub-districts -- Telaga Antang and Tualan Hulu -- were free from these hotspots.
The sub-district of Antang Kalang had 14 hotspots, Bamaang 16, Bukit Santuai 2, Cempaga 9, Cempaga Hulu 2, Besi 22, Mentawa Baru Ketapang 18, South Mentaya Hilir 11, North Mentaya Hilir 47, Mentaya Hulu 3, Seranau 28, Parenggean 3, Hanaut Isle 24, Telawang 16, and Sampit Bay 26.
Besides Kotim, the neighboring districts of Seruyan and Katingan also had 164 and 128 hotspots respectively.
The hotspots caused thick haze that reduced visibility to below 10 meters in some areas.
The local authorities have undertaken efforts to put out the flames of these forest, peatland, and plantation fires.
The haze emergency response status in Central Kalimantan has been extended from September 20 to September 30, Head of the Central Kalimantan Disaster Mitigation Agency Brigong Tom Moenandaz stated.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
