Air Force planes to combat haze
BANDUNG (JP): A modified Hercules C-130 plane took off from the Hussein Sastranegara airbase here Saturday for Sumatra in the government's first mission to combat the haze from the air.
The plane carried five tons of calcium oxide mild solution which it would disseminate from the sky over Sumatra to clear the air and enable more sun to penetrate.
This would evaporate water below and create clouds, explained deputy chairman of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Indro Priyono.
Cloud seeding has been ruled out at this stage because the cloud is too thin, according to officials.
The plane's targets in the eight-hour mission Saturday were the airports in South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau which have been worse affected by haze in the last three months.
Airports were given priority because hundreds of flights had been canceled due to the haze, causing havoc to the regions' economy.
The plane which took off Saturday is one of three C-130 planes modified by the Air Force for the purpose.
The three were scheduled to make more sorties to Sumatra and Kalimantan Sunday. The operation will continue for the next two months.
When conditions permit, smaller planes will be deployed to carry out cloud seeding to induce rain in these areas, officials said.
"This is what we can do from the air at the moment," Indro said.
"Another concerted effort to put out the fires is also being carried out on the ground."
The haze has been blamed on the forest fires raging in Sumatra and Kalimantan in the past few weeks. The government has sent thousands of firefighters, including some from Malaysia, to put out the fires.
The modification of the C-130 planes was jointly carried out by the Air Force's Material Maintenance Command's workshop and the national aircraft manufacturer PT IPTN.
Meanwhile, the Navy has provided its Transal planes to water bomb the forest fires, officials said here Saturday.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas, who heads the national board coordinating the haze disaster relief, witnessed the launching of the mission Saturday. Also present were Lt. Gen. AM Hendropriyono, the secretary of the development operation and Azwar's deputy on the disaster board.
They were accompanied by Air Force Chief's Assistant of Operations Rear Marshall Irawan Saleh and Commandant of the Air Force's Material Maintenance Rear Marshall Sjaiful Kartim Munaf.
Azwar said no one had anticipated the unusual weather pattern, which caused Indonesia's prolonged dry season, to come this year.
El Nino was not expected to hit until next year, Azwar said, referring to the freak weather phenomena that has wreaked havoc in the South Pacific as well as the Indian subcontinent and Africa.
"A haze problem like this has never happened before. Usually the haze just goes up and disappears," Hendropriyono said.
The government has also blamed the forest fires on plantation and timber companies for using slash-and-burn methods in clearing land.
Hendropriyono said strong measures must be taken against these companies although he said he was reluctant to prosecute them. "Administrative measures would be more effective than prosecuting them on criminal charges," he said. (aan)