Pontianak City Government Forms Patrol Team To Prevent Forest And Land Fires

KALBAR - The Pontianak City Government, West Kalimantan (Kalbar), has formed a team to anticipate forest and land fires (karhutla). They carry out mapping and preventive operations such as patrols to prevent forest and land fires in urban areas.

The Mayor of Pontianak, Edi Rusdi Kamtono, said the team also held outreach activities by educating the public not to burn land.

"And if there is a land fire from a small flame, the firefighters and volunteers will quickly localize it so that the fire does not spread," said Edi at the Pontianak Police Headquarters page, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, March 8.

The condition of the burned land was exacerbated by the difficulty of obtaining water sources around the location because the water receded as a result of the dry season. Therefore, Edi said the team would act by finding solutions to obtain water sources.

If the existing water source is located far from the location of the burned land, then it can be done by activating the pipes that are connected to the location of the land fire, he said.

"Mapping should have been done because the existing lands are not too broad in scope so that fires can be localized and the fires can be stopped," he continued.

Currently, he continued, his party has formed a team that will do the mapping based on the existing geography. The next step is how to anticipate if a land fire occurs.

In fact, the Pontianak City Government has issued Regional Regulation (Perda) Number 55 of 2018 concerning the Prohibition of Land Burning. In fact, there are already several lands that were sealed during the 2021 fires.

"Of course, an investigation will be carried out if it is proven that someone deliberately set fires. We remain alert to land and forest fires and must be united to overcome forest and land fires," he said.

Meanwhile, the Pontianak City Police Chief, Kombes (Pol) Andi Herindra said his party had followed up and adjusted to the existing provisions. If it is proven that the land was intentionally burned, then his party will process it further. "Until now it is still in the process of being investigated," he said.

He added that while his party was examining the crime scene (TKP) to look for evidence at the location, then if there were eyewitnesses, it would be investigated to obtain accurate information.

"However, it is still not certain because to reveal someone's actions, whether to burn or not, it is necessary to have clearer evidence," he said.