"In taking the firm action, we will not discriminate. We will act against the arsonists regardless of whether they are individuals , groups or companies. We will punish them," Jasrianto, the Rokan Hilir Bapedal chief, said in Bagansiapi-api on Saturday.
Hotspots of forest and plantation fires are often found in Rokan Hilir District and are cause haze in many coastal areas of Riau province.
"We want to erase the stigma that rests on Rokan Hilir as "the biggest haze maker" in Riau. We will begin by punishing those who have set fires in forests or plantation areas on purpose," he said.
He appealed to local people who had found any hotspot to immediately report to Bapedal so that the source of the fire could be identified as soon as possible.
If Bapedal found indications that the fires had been set on purpose, the agency would immediately report the case to the police for further investigation, he said.
Based on the result of monitoring by NOAA 18 Satellite, there had been nine to 29 hot spots in Riau over the past four days, according to the Riau meteorological, geophysics and climatology agency.
Meanwhile, two commercial flights were delayed at Sultan Syarif Kasim (SSK) II Airport in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, Friday, due to haze coming from forest and peat fires.
"Two flights were delayed this morning, respectively from Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia," Taslim, the head of the SSK II airport, said here Friday.
The visibility dropped drastically in the morning, while the minimal visibility for air safety was 1,000 meters, he said.
Based on the NOAA 18 Satellite, there were nine hotspots in Riau on Friday morning, consisting of three in Rokan Hilir, four in Rokan Hulu, one in Siak , and another in Kampar districts. Three days ago, Riau had 46 hotspots of forest, peat and plantation fires.(Uu.F001/HAJM)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
