West Kalimantan Police Forms Of Forest And Land Fire Control Brigades

West Kalimantan Police Chief Inspector General R. Sigid Tri Hardjanto, (ANTARA/Rendra Oxtora)

PONTIANAK - West Kalimantan Police Chief Inspector General R. Sigid Tri Hardjanto formed a "Brigade for Forest and Land Control". The Brigade was formed to handle the increasingly widespread cases of forest and land fires (karhutla).

"This budget consists of 538 personnel who will be actively involved in handling and overcoming forest and land fires in the West Kalimantan Province," Sigid said in Pontianak as reported by ANTARA, Monday, August 14.

According to him, forest and land fires in the West Kalimantan region continue and are increasingly widespread, causing serious impacts on the local community.

Air quality in Pontianak City and several areas in West Kalimantan (West Kalimantan) have now experienced a drastic decline, and have even reached a dangerous level for health.

"In an effort to overcome the problem of forest and land fires (karhutla) which is increasingly worrying. For this reason, decisive steps are needed by forming a Karhutla Control Brigade in each region," he said.

Sigid revealed that the Karhutla Control Brigade will not only focus on extinguishing efforts, but will also provide understanding, education, and explanations to the public.

This is done to encourage active community participation in preventing and overcoming forest and land fires.

"In our efforts to prevent forest and land fires, we will intensify socialization to the public so that they do not use the arson method," he said.

He also emphasized that this Brigade will be at the forefront of dealing with forest and land fires issues. They will be involved in socializing prevention and plunging directly into the hotspots to carry out extinguishing efforts.

"We all realize how important this forest and land fires issue is, not only for local areas but also for global impacts. Therefore, anticipatory steps need to be taken to address this problem," said Sigid.

It is hoped that with the establishment of the Karhutla Control Brigade, the handling of forest and land fires in West Kalimantan can be carried out more effectively and comprehensively.

"The collaboration between the police and the active participation of the community is expected to reduce the risk of forest and land fires that damage the environment and public health," he said.