Schools closed in Pontianak on thick smoke from forest fires

Pontianak, W. Kalimantan, Aug 20 (Antaranews Kalbar) - Smokes have forced the City Administration of Pontianak, the provincial city of West Kalimantan, to close schools from Monday until Aug. 26.

Smokes from forest fires are feared to cause health hazard, the city Mayor Sutarmidji said here on Monday, adding the smokes were getting thicker causing breathing difficulty.

Junior and senior high schools, however, would resume normal activities starting August 24, the city mayor said.

A school teacher Yudi in the city said the smokes caused loss of concentration of the students.

"The impact is worse in the past week . Everybody has to wear masker when they are out on the street," Yudi said.

Forest fires have been a problem almost every year in Kalimantan during dry season.

In South Sumatra, especially around the provincial city of Palembang, the authorities have to be more on guard against forest fires otherwise haze of smokes could disrupt the Asian Games now underway in the city until Sept. 2.

Police and military personnel were on guard in areas in the villages and other places around the city to make sure that the city is safe from the inconvenience caused by smokes.

Farmers are strictly prohibited from using fires to clear farmland as fires easily spread to hit peat lands and forests during the dry season. Those found responsible for forest fires face heavy punishment.

South Sumatra suffered the hardest by one of the country`s biggest forest fires 2015 when fires ravaged the country`s tropical forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan sending haze of thick smokes as far as Malaysia and Singapore.

Environmentalists blamed farmers and plantation companies for the disaster that resulted in boycott of the country`s plantation commodities mainly palm oil by certain countries.

The government, however, has succeeded in reducing cases of forest fires over the past several years although hot spots are still reported during drought that comes almost every year. Reported by Andilala