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Thousands of hectares of land in Jambi burned down
Blanketed in smoke: Thick smoke covers areas across Indonesia, including Tanggo Rajo, Jambi, on Sept
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Blanketed in smoke: Thick smoke covers areas across Indonesia, including Tanggo Rajo, Jambi, on Sept. 3. (Kompas/Irma Tambunan) (Kompas/Irma Tambunan)
Blanketed in smoke: Thick smoke covers areas across Indonesia, including Tanggo Rajo, Jambi, on Sept. 3. (Kompas/Irma Tambunan)
As many as 15,600 hectares of land in Jambi have been burned down in the last three months, some of which are in forest areas, a forestry official has said.
Jambi Forestry Agency head Irmansyah said on Tuesday that around 35 percent of the total burned down land in Jambi were forests while the remaining was in areas outside forests, including peatland. 'Around 80 percent of the areas [not in forests] are peatland,' he said.
Irmansyah said local authorities had managed to handle fires in forests areas, including those which had occurred in the Berbak National Park and several conservation forest areas. 'What is quite difficult to handle is fires in peatland,' he said, adding that thick smoke from the land and forest fires had continued to affect areas across the province.
Jambi Legislative Council (DPRD) speaker Cornelis Buston said DPRD Jambi was fully supporting the government's plan to evacuate haze victims in Jambi. He further said the DPRD Jambi office was open and ready to accommodate the evacuated haze victims.
'The council building is ready to shelter the victims. They can use its air-conditioned rooms. Even the plenary meeting hall can be used [as a shelter]. This is for all of the people,' he said.
Cornelis said regent and mayor offices in all regions across Indonesia must be able to be used as evacuation locations for haze-affected residents. 'Children suffering from respiratory infections need to be evacuated,' he said.
Together with the Jambi provincial administration, Cornelis said, DPRD Jambi was set to perform Istisqa prayers (mass prayers asking for rain). 'Maybe the one and only thing needed to remove the smoke is rain,' he said. (ebf)
