Pekanbaru shrouded by thick haze from Sumatra's forest fires

Pekanbaru, Riau, Aug 1 (Antara) - Thick haze from Sumatra's forest fires enveloped Pekanbaru city on Saturday and reduced visibility to 1,500 meters. "Visibility has dropped from 2,000 meters to 1,5000 meters," Head of the Pekanbaru Meteorology Station Sugarin said here on Saturday. The haze was a result of hotspots found in the districts of Pelalawan, Kampar, and Pekanbaru, he added. Head of the Riau Disaster Mitigation Office Edwar Sanger stated that the hotspots in the three locations had been doused, but they were still producing smoke. The Terra and Aqua satellites detected only six hotspots in Riau province---two in Kuantan Sangingi district, one in Pelalawan district, and three in Indragiri Hilir. Also, the number of hotspots decreased significantly from 140 on July 30. Furthermore, the police have named 24 suspects behind the forest and land fires that occurred in Riau province from January to July. As many as 14 of them have been handed over to the public prosecutor's office, while the remaining 10 are being investigated, Spokesman for the Riau Provincial Police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Guntur Aryo Tejo affirmed on July 30. The suspects were arrested in the jurisdictions of the district police of Meranti, Dumai, Indragiri Hulu, Indragiri Hilir, Rokan Hilir, Bengkalis, Siak, and Pelalawan. Tejo further noted that during the investigation, most of the suspects had confessed to setting lands on fire to open farmlands and plantations. Under a regulation, no slash-and-burn practices are allowed in the country, he pointed out, adding that the police will continue to eradicate cases of forest and land fires in the province by enforcing the law. Earlier, the Riau land and forest fire control taskforce (Satgas Karlahut) had revealed that 1,246 hectares of land in the province had been razed by wildfires from June 24 to July 26. "The land fires in 1,246 hectares of land were found in all districts and municipalities of Riau," the chief of the taskforce, Brigadier General Nurendi, who is also the commander of the 031 Wira Bima district military command, remarked.