Pekanbaru, Riau, March 14 (Antarariau.com) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono planned to inspect forest fire extinguishing operations in the Riau province to see how they were carried out so far.
"I have changed my schedule and will go to Riau," he said at a teleconference from Semarang, Central Java, with journalists at the Riau regional police headquarters here on Friday.
He said he wanted to check the conditions in the fire-affected areas and see why the fires still continued to burn in Riau.
He said he hoped during his visit, a solution to end the haze problems can be found.
"(I will come) so that the solutions of the central and regional governments match," he said.
Due to the President"s plan, the regional government and the relevant offices had immediately organized a meeting at the office of Riau"s governor to prepare for the visit.
"If the president says immediately, it can mean tomorrow" Syamsul Maarif, the chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.
Due to haze covering the region, the President might come through Pinang Kampai in Dumai, or to Padang, West Sumatra, before proceeding by car," he said.
According to the commander of the Roesmin Nurjadin air base, Col. Andyawan, visibility in Pekanbaru was now only 50 to 100 meters. As a result the fire-extinguishing operations by air could not be carried out in the past three days.
"Today, no water bombs were dropped due to thick haze," he said.
He, however, added that visibility in Dumai was relatively better at 1,000 meters, or the minimum level for safe flight.
Due to the conditions, two helicopters used for water bombing will soon be moved to the Dumai airport, he noted.
"We are trying to put out the tail of the fires and not operating against winds from Pekanbaru," he said.
President to Inspect Forest Fire Extinguishing Operations in Riau
