Three die as haze engulfs Palangkaraya

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least three people have died and 60 more are suffering from respiratory problems as thick haze from forest fires burning out of control continues to engulf Palangkaraya, the provincial capital of Central Kalimantan.

Central Kalimantan deputy governor Nahson Taway said on Tuesday that the haze, which he claimed was worse than last year's, had also forced airport authorities to close the airport over the past few weeks.

"We are worried that the problem will persist as the fire spreads very fast across the peat land during the current dry season," Nahson said after reporting the haze problem to Vice President Hamzah Haz.

"The province needs more help because the haze is getting thicker every day," he said.

The central government sent 30,000 masks and medical teams to handle the cases of respiratory problems in the province.

Nahson said the local administration was completely powerless in facing the fires and could only hope for heavy rains to put out the peat land fires across the province.

He said the province's airport had been closed since Aug. 26, forcing authorities to get supplies from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, and transport them overland to Palangkaraya.

"It slows down getting the supplies for our province because we need more time to transport them from Banjarmasin," the deputy governor said.

Haze resulting from forest fires has become a perennial problem for Kalimantan and Sumatra over the past few years, especially during the dry season.

The worst haze disaster happened in 1997, when the smoke from forest fires spread even to neighboring countries Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

"We haven't received any complaints yet from neighboring countries, but we are concerned because the haze problem is worse than last year's," Nahson said.

Central Kalimantan Environmental Agency chief Sjahrani Sjahrin said on Tuesday that hot spots had increased significantly across the country. He did not elaborate further.

In East Kalimantan, smog was blanketing several areas in the southern part of the province on Tuesday as a consequence of the slash-and-burn method of clearing land in the Bukit Soeharto area.

Haze-hit areas include Balikpapan, Kutai Kartanegara, Samarinda and the Pasir district, the head of the province's Meteorology and Geophysics Office, Syamsul Huda said.

The smog, he said, was the result of the slash-and-burn method to clear land and forest fires started by local residents, he said, adding that the smog had been covering the southern area over the past few days.

"The smog covering Balikpapan is not sending haze to Central Kalimantan or West Kalimantan provinces," Syamsul told Antara.

Thick haze has also been beleaguering West Kalimantan, especially its capital Pontianak, over the past few weeks, forcing airport authorities to delay daily morning flights by up to two hours.

The government has yet to take action against the corporations and individuals responsible for starting forest fires.