Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Suharyanto, symbolically handed over assistance for Puncak, Central Papua, which has been affected by drought and extreme cold weather.

In a statement released on Wednesday, he said that the assistance was handed to community representatives in the presence of the Head of Puncak District, Willem Wandik, at the cargo terminal of Mozes Kilangin Airport, Timika, Central Papua.

The logistics assistance included 50 tons of rice, 10 thousand packages of instant food, 3 thousand packages of cooked meat, 3 thousand bags of protein milk, and 3 thousand packages of essential commodities.

The assistance also included 2 thousand tents, 10 thousand blankets, 4 thousand mattresses and folding mattresses, 2 thousand children's clothes, 2 thousand adult clothes, 4 units of evacuation tents, 20 electric generators, and 3 trail motorbikes.

The assistance from the central government will be delivered to Agandugume, Puncak district, using a Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft, which has a cargo capacity of up to 900 kilograms.

Agandugume is the nearest area to the most affected regions.

"Only one sortie (flight) can be flown daily depending on the weather, and that the freight capacity is 900 kilograms at once," Suharyanto informed.

The BNPB chief said that the agency has continued to help affected residents by distributing logistics and other necessary equipment. He assured that the logistical needs of the affected communities would be met.

"This support will be carried out continuously. BNPB is helping with the logistics and freight transportation during this emergency response period," he added.

Meanwhile, the delivery of assistance has been hindered by bad weather, the Secretary of Puncak District Darwin Tobing said.

According to him, obstacles have been faced in the delivery of assistance, including from the Puncak Regional government and the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander, Admiral Yudo Margono, due to weather conditions.

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Translator: Devi R, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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