President Jokowi: Smokes from Riau Forest Fires Shouldn’t Disturb Flight Activities
Smokes and haze coming from forest and land fires that hit tens of thousands of hectares of area in Riau Province should not disturb flight activities which can lead to economic growth disturbance, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has reminded.
“This is what we must avoid,” President Jokowi said during a Limited Meeting on Forest and Land Fires Handling, at the Novotel Hotel, Pekanbaru, Riau, Monday (16/9).
Thus, the President instructed Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) and Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to pour bigger artificial rain on the affected areas. “The Government also has deployed extra personnel in the area,” he added.
However, the President reminded, the Central Government needs support from regional governments, otherwise the measures that have been already taken by the Central Government will be hard to achieve.
In addition, President Jokowi underlined that prevention of forest fires is crucial because once the fires occur, it will be much harder to put out existing fires especially on peat lands.
He called on Governors, Regents, Mayors, Village Chiefs, military personnel, regional police, the BNPB, as well as Ministry of Environment and Forestry to work hard in preventing forest fires.
“If only those parties worked properly, I am sure even a hotspot would have been discovered before it turns to fires. I have reminded about it repeatedly,” the President firmly said, adding that the fires hit peat lands make it much harder to be put out.
“So, the key is prevention, do not let any hotspot emerge,” President Jokowi stated. (RSF/RAH/ES)
Translated by: Estu Widyamurti
Edited by: Mia Medyana