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Sport stadium being prepared to shelter haze victims
(Tribun Pekanbaru/David Tobing)After being pressured by students, NGOs and community leaders, the Riau provincial government has made plans to use the Tribuana sports stadium as a shelter for haze victims as the air quality in the province has continued to decrease
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(Tribun Pekanbaru/David Tobing) (Tribun Pekanbaru/David Tobing)
(Tribun Pekanbaru/David Tobing)
After being pressured by students, NGOs and community leaders, the Riau provincial government has made plans to use the Tribuana sports stadium as a shelter for haze victims as the air quality in the province has continued to decrease.
Acting Riau governor Arsyadjuliandi 'Andi' Rachman said on Tuesday that there had been three locations being prepared to serve as temporary shelters before the sports stadium was eventually decided on. 'The stadium was selected because it could accommodate a lot of people and it is not far from the city,' he said.
Haze from forest fires in Riau and its neighboring provinces have caused many problems including lowering air quality, disrupting flights and closing down schools. Latest reports say that some civil servants have been advised not to go to their workplaces.
'Anyone who wants to seek protection from the smoke, please come to the sports stadium. The Riau government has prepared spring beds, mattresses, medicines and other facilities for the convenience of haze victims,' he added.
But he stressed that the shelter was just one of a several options for the Riau residents as the local government would continue to serve haze victims at hospitals, community healthcare centers and a number of additional healthcare posts set up around the province.
He said that there were currently six healthcare posts and that there would soon be two more near the Tribuana sports stadium to serve the people taking shelter there.
Meanwhile, Pekanbaru Mayor Firdaus has conceded that the hazardous air pollution has made the city no longer a healthy place to live as the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) now reads at above the health limit of 300.
'One morning the air pollution was measured at 1,000. Smoke has entered residents' houses. Should the city be evacuated? Where should the people go? Other areas were also affected by the haze,' he said, adding that many wealthy people had already left the city.
Firdaus said his government had reduced the workload of civil servant by 60 percent due to the haze. He said that he had shifted civil servants working outdoors into offices to minimize the impact of the haze.
'I have also called on people to reduce their outdoor activities because the haze level is very dangerous for people's health. Wear a mask if you are forced to work outside buildings, drink lots of water and consume lots of fruit,' he added. (bbn)(++++)
