Drought damages more rice fields

BANDUNG, W. Java: More than 30,000 hectares of rice fields in West Java have been affected by drought, an official said on Tuesday.

Ali Maskoen, acting head of the province's agriculture office, told Antara that the worst-affected regencies included Serang, Bekasi, Karawang, Purwakarta, Sukabumi, Cianjur, Bandung, Tasikmalaya, Ciamis and Indramayu.

Ali did not give the extent of crop damage or the size of paddies which had been destroyed.

Rationing of irrigation water had been introduced for some 41,190 hectares of rice fields, and other efforts, including gotong royong (mutual help) programs, were offering relief for another 7,262 hectares. (09)