Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariaua.com) - Minister of the Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya said artificially made rain would be launched to overcome bush fires in Riau on Monday.
The directorate of forest will start the use of artificially made rain produced by the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Siti Nurbaya said here on Monday.
Siti said during her visit to Riau in mid February she saw firest in locations that could not be reached easily and people opened farmlands by using fire to clear land.
The government, therefore, announced the status of fire emergency in Riau in bid to reduce greater damage to the environment, the minister said.
He said communications must be maintained with the district administrations in the province as well as with the many plantations companies in the region to remain on guard against fires.
Based on official sources, fires have hit around 379 hectares of lands in Riau since January. The hardest hit was the regency of Bengkalis, in northern Riau.
Meanwhile, head of the meteorology, climatology and geophysics office in Pekanbaru, Sugarin, said Terra and Aqua satellites detected 39 hot spots in Riau on Sunday.
The Bengkalis District alone had 15 hotspots, which are believed to be bush fires.
Earlier acting governor of Riau said artificially made rain would be created in Riau for 30 days to overcome bush fires.
For that purpose, 68 tons of salt would be needed to create rain in 30 days to cost Rp25 billion.
Meanwhile police said more than 35 hectares of dry peat lands have been gutted by fire in a number of sub-district areas in the Rokan Hilir District, Riau, sending thick smoke potential to cause health hazard.
"Fire broke out yesterday in the sub-districts of Bangko and Tanah Putih and continued to spread until today," Riau police spokesman Adj.Comr Guntur Aryo Tejo said here on Sunday.
Guntur said a team of police officers have been sent to help overcome the fire in Banko where fire hit 32 hectares of bush land and swampy peat land in the village of Suka Damai Kepulauan Teluk Bano.
He said police also have identified the land owners including Paini, Udin, Kemis and Bandot.
"They have been questioned over the causes of the fire. It is still being investigated," he said.
Banko police in cooperation with local people and a team from PT Jatim succeeded in overcoming the fire on Saturday.
A team of police officers had also been sent to Tanah Putih, in a bid to cope with the bush fire.
Bush fires have almost every year caused problem with black haze of smoke disrupting flights in the region as far as Malaysia and Singapore.
Artificially Made Rain To Overcome Bush Fire In Riau
