"Right now, our focus is on handling the forest fires in those three provinces, which are having the highest number of hotspots," BNPB`s Acting Secretary Dody Ruswandi said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is streamlining its efforts to handle forest fires in South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, and Riau in Indonesia, the agencys Acting Secretary Dody Ruswandi stated here on Tuesday.

"Right now, our focus is on handling the forest fires in those three provinces, which are having the highest number of hotspots," Dody emphasized.

According to him, the officials from BNPB and the related agencies had tried to extinguish the forest fires through land and air operations.

Earlier, BNPBs spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho reported that nine helicopters and a Hercules airplane belonging to the Air Force have been deployed to extinguish the forest fires.

The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) will also carry out cloud seeding operations until October to help extinguish the forest fires.

"We are optimizing our efforts to extinguish the fires and prevent them from spreading to other areas," Sutopo revealed.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that thick haze had engulfed most of Riau provinces capital city, Pekanbaru, since Tuesday morning.

"This haze is very disturbing," stated Ardiawan, a 34-year-old local resident, on Tuesday.

Ardiawan, who works at a delivery service company, expressed concern that the haze could be harmful to his health.

According to Antaras observation, thick haze has blanketed Pekanbaru on Tuesday morning. As of Tuesday noon, the haze was still covering the city, thereby reducing visibility for motorcyclists and other vehicle users on the road.

The Riau government itself had allocated a budget of Rp10 billion to anticipate the effects of haze in the area.

Riaus Deputy Governor, Kasiarudin, noted that the local government is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to stop forest fires that cause thick haze.

"We have established a local disaster mitigation agency, which reports to the governor and related authorities on a daily basis," Kasiarudin remarked. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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