HAZE FROM BUSH FIRES COVERING PALEMBANG

Palembang, South Sumatra, Sept. 23 (ANTARA) - Haze coming from bush and plantation fires has been covering Palembang over the past one month.

The haze was especially noticeable in the afternoon and evening and irritating one's nose and eyes, Ridwan, an inhabitant of 7 Ulu District, said here on Wednesday.

"It's obvious that the haze has come from areas burned by local people in regions such as Ogan Komering Ilir, Ogan Ilir, Ogan Komering Ulu, Banyuasin, Musi Banyuasin, Lahat districts, and Prabumulih city," Ridwan said.

Local people have the habit of clearing land for farming by burning the unwanted vegetation and thus produced smoke that poluuted the air, he said.

Tens of hectares of bushes caught fire in Mulak and Kota Agung subdistricts, Lahat District, South Sumatra Province, on Wednesday.

The bushes covered an area located between human settlements and plantations.

The area was very dry as no rain had fallen on it for the past three months, Solihin, a resident of Mulak Ulu village, Lahat, said here on Wednesday.

The worst affected areas are Mulak Ulu and Mulak Ilir villages which border on forests in the Bukit Barisan region, he said.

"More than 20 hectares of forest area have been gutted by fire during the current dry season," he said.

South Sumatra province has around 1,483,662 hectares of peatland prone to fire.

To prevent fires , local authorities had intensified monitoring and campaigns to inform the public not to clear land by burning bushes , Sigit Wibowo, head of the South Sumatra provincial forestry service, said in Palembang recently.