Flights Delayed Over Haze In Banjarmasin

Banjarbaru, S Kalimantan, Nov 4 (Antara) - Thick haze that blanketed Syamsudin Noor Airport in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, has delayed at least five flights on Tuesday. "There are five flights delayed for about 30 minutes to one hour from schedule," Airport Service Section Head of PT Angkasa Pura I port operator, Heru Widiantmo said here on Tuesday. Of the five flights two belonged to Lion Air which left for Yoyakarta and Surabaya and three flights from state-owned Garuda Indonesia. The Garuda flights left for Balikpapan (East Kalimantan), Surabaya (East Java) and Jakarta. Thick haze began blanketing and Banjarbaru Banjarmasin on Monday causing difficulty to breathe for the people in the two South Kalimantan cities. Black smokes filled nearly all space in the two cities on Monday morning after two weeks of almost cloudless air. "At 06.00 the air is fresh but 30 minutes later thick smokes blew into the city," said Wita, a household mother in northern Banjarbaru. The visibility was restricted and the smell was sharp that passers by and motorists have to wear maskers, Wita said. The smokes came from a number of bush fires not far from the city. A fairly big fire ravaged tens of hectares of open bush land in that area. The fire that spread rapidly hit and totally destroyed a public health center in Liang Anggang. In nearby provincial city of Banjarmasin, the people already complained about the inconvenience cause by black smokes over the past several days and on Monday it was worse with thicker smokes rolled into the city. All people in the streets have to wear masks making it more difficult to breathe. Many people chose to stay home with closed doors to prevent the haze from entering their houses. For several days earlier the city people felt relieved with mush fresher air especially as there was rain. However, the rainy days were short and dry season that easily triggers fires is not yet over. "Normally rain began to fall in October but now it is already November," Muhammad Noor (57), a Banjarmasin citizen, said. "We hope rain would soon fall otherwise the condition in Banjarmasin and nearby areas would be worse," Noor said. Local farmers suffer worse. They have to delay planting as their rice fields were dry.