"We are ready to support the success of the Asian Games by preventing Karhutla, so that the city of Palembang is free from smoke arising from fires during the international sporting event," Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman remarked here on Thursday
During the Asian Games torch relay ceremony at the Riau provincial government office on Thursday, the governor stressed that various parties in the province continued to work hard to prevent Karhutla, so that smoke will not spread to Palembang.
In addition to the success of the Asian Games, Governor Arsyadjuliandi said Riau had also helped to encourage the athletes, who will participate in Asia`s biggest sporting event.
"There are 25 athletes from Riau in the Asian Games Indonesian contingent, and we hope they would be able to achieve the best by winning medals," the governor noted.
In its efforts to ensure the success of the Asian Games, Riau`s Land and Forest Fire Task Force recently deployed six water bombing and patrol helicopters to contain the spread of hotspots in the area.
"We have deployed all our helicopters today," Head of the Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency Edwar Sanger stated here recently.
The six helicopters include a Bell 430 patrol helicopter, two water bombers Kamov K-32A, and a water bomber Sikorsky S61-A, the four being provided by the National Disaster Management Agency.
Two other helicopters are a Super Puma N-5893Y provided by pulp and paper producer Sinarmas and a Bell 412 SP provided by the Forestry and Environment Ministry.
"Our operation today would cover Dumai, Rokan Hilir, Rokan Hulu, Pelalawan, and Siak," he added.
The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) had earlier detected 80 hotspots indicating Karhutla in Riau Province.
"The hotspots have spread in seven districts and cities in Riau," Head of BMKG Pekanbaru Station Sukisno noted.
The hotspots were detected through images captured by the Terra and Aqua satellite at 6 a.m. local time, with 42 hotspots detected in Rokan Hilir, 16 in Dumai, 10 in Bengkalis, five in Pelalawan, two in Rokan Hulu, and four in Siak District.
Reporting by B.S. Hadi
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Otniel Tamindael
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