President Prabowo adds helicopters and personnel to tackle forest and land fires
Several matters were also immediately decided by the President, including the addition of equipment, starting from helicopters for water bombing, then water pumps, and here they also need pumps for bore wells, as well as additional personnel, said Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, quoted from the BPMI Presidential Secretariat broadcast in Jakarta on Saturday.
In addition to helicopters and water pumps, ground operation support has also been strengthened with the addition of vehicles to support the firefighting process. The President also asked the provincial government and all ranks to ensure that communities affected by forest and land fires receive the best possible handling.
He said President Prabowo made the visit to directly monitor the handling of forest and land fires amid very dry weather conditions caused by the El Niño phenomenon. Before going to Central Kalimantan, the President first reviewed the handling of forest and land fires in West Kalimantan.
According to him, a number of areas in Kalimantan have become regions receiving government attention regarding forest and land fires, namely West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan.
In a coordination meeting at the Central Kalimantan Forest and Land Fire Handling Forward Command Post in the Tjilik Riwut Airport area, Palangka Raya, the President received reports on the progress of forest and land fire handling and needs on the ground.
He expressed his gratitude to all ranks who have worked extraordinarily hard day and night, struggling to extinguish the fires, from the TNI, Polri, BNPB, and also BMKG. There are also many volunteers, from Manggala Agni, and the Ministry of Forestry is also involved, and he conveyed his highest appreciation and respect, said the Minister of State Secretary.
In addition to strengthening firefighting efforts, President Prabowo emphasised the importance of prevention so that new fires do not recur. The government was asked to continue educating the public down to the lowest level about activities that could potentially trigger fires.
He instructed all of us to continuously, tirelessly educate our communities down to the lowest level, to once again avoid activities that could cause the potential emergence of fire, Prasetyo said firmly.