Head of the Supadio-Pontianak meteorology office Erika Mardiyanti stated here on Thursday morning that the number of hotspots decreased by 14 than that of the previous day.
Of the total figure, 452 hotspots were observed in Ketapang District, surging from 433 on the earlier day.
Head of the meteorology station Erika Mardiyanti stated here on Wednesday that 117 hotspots were detected in Sintang, 119 in Sanggau, 60 in Sekadau, 41 in North Kayong, 25 in Landak, 16 in Melawi, 38 in Kubu Raya, 13 in Bengkayang, two in Mempawah, 46 in Kapuas Hulu, and one in Sambas.
Haze emanating from forest fires over the past 48 hours has blanketed Pontianak, the capital city of West Kalimantan.
West Kalimantan Deputy Governor Ria Norsan remarked that the provincial administration had issued Government Regulation No. 39 of 2019 on Prevention and Mitigation of Forest Fires to curb slash and burn practices.
West Kalimantan Police Chief Insp. Gen. Didi Haryono gave confirmation of the arrests of 52 suspects by the West Kalimantan Police over land and forest fire cases in the province.
"Some 52 suspects were arrested in 44 cases comprising 43 individual cases and one involving a corporation," Haryono had noted on Aug 27, 2019.
During the January-July 2019 period, fires ravaged 135,479 hectares (ha) of forest and plantation areas across Indonesia.
Of the total, 3,315 ha were spotted in West Kalimantan, 71,712 ha in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), 30,065 ha in Riau, 4,970 ha in Riau Islands, 4,670 ha in South Kalimantan, 4,430 ha in East Kalimantan, and 3,618 ha in Central Kalimantan.
Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto had earlier admitted to ineffectual law enforcement against perpetrators of the slash and burn method triggering forest and land fires. He asserted that the government will apply a different approach to put a stop to traditional farming practices using fires.
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