InfoSAWIT, PEKANBARU – Head of National Disaster Management, Lieutenant General Doni Monardo, the Commander of Army, Marsekal Hadi Tjahjanto, and Head of Indonesian Police, Tito Karnavian saw the fires in the forests and areas in Riau province, Sunday (15/9/2019).
After flying with chopper of Air Force for 25 minutes from the airport in Pekanbaru, they land in the football field of Kerumutan Village, Pelalawan, Riau to see the fire near the oil pump of PT. Pertamina in Eka Kuning block.
When their vehicle passed through, they should pass the steep road among the palm oil plantation. Before getting Eka Kuning block, they were welcome by the former burnt areas and there was smoke around.
Commander of Army got the report that it needed heavy tools to open and widen the trenches. Besides, the water pump and the hose should be more to reach the hotspots. “We would send the excavator to widen the trench and provide the water pump and the hose,” Hadi said.
To monitor the preparation to the fire, the Army would send drone that would fly 24/7. It is important because he thought, there are differences when the sun shines and disappears.
“The drone would fly for 24/7 to monitor. The fire should always be monitored because it is different from the day and night. In the day, the fire extinguished but at night it burns,” he said.
Head of Indonesian Police, General Tito Karnavian questioned after he himself directly saw the fire in Riau from the chopper. Of thousand hectares the burning areas, no one takes place in palm oil plantations and the other industrial plantation forests (IPF). Tito thought that the fire purely happens for the person and the same person.
“What we saw from the chopper together with Army Commander and Head of National Disaster Management, the areas that turn to be plantations, both palm oil and other plantation industries, were not burnt. If it happens, they are less and in the side. This showed that the land clearing takes places by easily and cheap and advantaging the dry season,” Tito said in the official statement to InfoSAWIT.
He would give reward and punishment for the members to focus in the fire actors. He also asked the task force of fire to be more solid and keep solidarity so this issue could have good solution.
“The regional police and the officers would get reward and punishment," Tito said.
Knowing the issue, Head of National Disaster Management re-emphasized that the future prevention should be by the people’s welfare approach with the productive agriculture. Besides the people should change their behavior in the first place.
He thought that some kinds of productive plantations could be the alternative to increase their economy, such as, coffee, liberica, aloe vera, chilly, and others.
“This is about the way of thinking that should be changed. Start planting the productive plantations, such as, chilly, liberica coffee, aloe vera, or banana,” he said.
Until Sunday (15/9) there were 27 hotspots in high level category in Riau. In general, Pekanbaru is covered by thin smoke within the visibility 1 kilometer at 7 a.m. and at 10 a.m. The visibility about 1 to 2,2 kilometer and the temperature up to 37 celcius degree while the air quality according to PM10 at 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. is about 182 to 201 ugram/m3 or not good. (T2)
