Pekanbaru, Riau, Sept 19 (Antarariau.com) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will visit the Kampar District in Riau Province on September 24 and 25, 2015 to survey the peat land fires that have hit the region, an official has said.
The president, accompanied by the concerned officials, will assess the impact of forest and land fires and the efforts made to address these, said public relations officer of Riau provincial government, Darusman, here on Saturday.
"(The visit will be) especially meant to discuss the land fires and haze disaster in Riau," he stated.
According to him, (the president) was paying serious attention to the peat land fires that led to smog from which many people are suffering.
It was reported on Friday that a thick haze was hindering water bombing efforts to put out forest and land fires in Sumatras Riau province.
The head of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, Edwar Sanger, told Antara that haze remained very thick from morning to afternoon, allowing a visibility of only around 600 meters and, thus, making it impossible for helicopters to carry out water bombing operations.
"At around 3pm, we were able to fly (the helicopters) one by one to conduct the operation after visibility improved to 1,200 meters," he said before the helicopters departed.
Sanger said his office has deployed three helicopters to water bomb several areas in which the forest or land fires were still causing haze.
He said the Camarov helicopter was assigned to water bomb the area in the sub-district of Kerumutan, Pelalawan, for three hours, while the MI 171 operated in an area at Air Hitam in Pekanbaru and Rimbo Panjang in Kampar and Sikorsky in Indragiri Hulu.
He added that the Sikorsky helicopter sent to Rokan Hulu was able to carry out most sorties for water bombings after refueling in the region.
Sanger said water bombing operations would continue for one week, as ongoing fires in forests and on land were still producing haze.
He said the focus was now on preventing fires from flaring up again.
In the past few days, his office has carried out intensive water bombing operations, focusing on Kampar, Pelalawan and Indragiri Hulu.
He also said he believed the fires would be handled soon if all groups worked well together. "We will continue working and are optimistic that it will soon be overcome," he said.
Presiden Jokowi To Visit Riau To See Peat Lands Fires
