Bushfires continue in Sampit

Bushfires continue in Sampit

SAMPIT, Central Kalimantan: A haze from bush and farmland fires that have blazed for several days continued to blanket Sampit, the capital of Kotawaringin regency, on Wednesday.

The local fire chief, Rusli, said fires were still raging in six spots across the regency, including along the highway connecting the town and the provincial capital of Palangkaraya and in front of the penitentiary located in the town.

"It's difficult for us to put out the fires because of a lack of personnel and equipment," Rusli said.

Efforts to put out the blazes also have been hampered by the fact that the some of the fires are burning on peatland.

The failure to extinguish the fires have been blamed in part on the regency administration, which did not allocate money to cover the operational costs of the fire brigade, not to mention the six months of unpaid salaries owed the firefighters. -- Antara