Food Deputy Minister: Thousands of personnel tackle forest fires in three South Kalimantan areas
Banjarbaru (ANTARA) - Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the South Kalimantan provincial government has deployed thousands of personnel to strengthen the handling of forest and land fires in three priority areas in Banjarbaru City.
“The handling is carried out systematically through the division of areas based on land characteristics and fire conditions on the ground,” said Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Hanif while reviewing the forest and land fire response in Banjarbaru on Monday.
He said the three priority areas for forest and land fire handling in Banjarbaru include Guntung Damar, the Liang Anggang Protection Forest and Pengayuan. The handling in each area is adjusted to the land characteristics and fire conditions to ensure that extinguishing efforts run effectively.
“In Guntung Damar and the Liang Anggang Protection Forest, peatland is the main challenge, so extinguishing is carried out through a wetting method using water pump machines. This method helps keep the land wet and prevents the fire from reappearing,” said Deputy Coordinating Minister Hanif.
The South Kalimantan provincial government then deployed 100 units, the Ministry of Defence 50 units, and the Ministry of Agriculture 50 units.
Equipment support continues to be strengthened to reach around 300 water pumps operated for forest and land fire handling. The operation of these hundreds of pumps involves thousands of personnel with a team rotation system according to needs on the ground, so that 300 pumps are used simultaneously on an ongoing basis.
“Each pump unit requires about six people to operate optimally. With the deployment of hundreds of pump units, the personnel involved are deployed in rotation to ensure that extinguishing and land wetting activities continue to run sustainably,” said Deputy Coordinating Minister Hanif.
A total of 30 pumps were deployed to support handling in the two sub-zones of Pengayuan. A total of 26 units came from community support as government partners, while the other four units were assistance from the Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association (GAPKI).
“The forest and land fire handling operation specifically in Pengayuan is supported by around 350 personnel deployed to strengthen extinguishing efforts on the ground according to the division of areas and handling needs in each sub-zone,” said Deputy Coordinating Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq.