Ronna Nirmala – Thick haze from forest fires has forced the closure of schools and the main airport in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan, officials said on Tuesday.
The thick haze forced authorities to shut down all school activities, with Governor Agustin Teras Narang issuing the order for the closure until air quality improves, Antara news agency said.
"This morning the governor ordered schools closed in response to the poor air quality, which is endangering our health," Central Kalimantan spokesman Kardinal Tarung said.
Kardinal could not be immediately reached for confirmation and his staff declined comment.
The spokesman said the order was particularly aimed at the greater Palangkaraya area, which had been blanketed in thick smog for the past three days. However, he added that almost every district in Central Kalimantan was experiencing severe haze problems.
School opening hours in the Palangkaraya area have been pushed back since mid-August because the haze is at its worst in the morning.
"Students are calling in sick every day, so classes are largely ineffective anyway, especially since the school hours have been reduced as well," Riri, a teacher at state-run elementary school SD Negeri Menteng, was quoted by Antara as saying.
Central Kalimantan's main airport, Tjilik Riwut in Palangkaraya, was also forced to shut down on Tuesday because of low visibility.
"Haze has reduced visibility on the runway, rendering flights impossible," said airport chief Jamaluddin Hasibuan.
Hasibuan said the airport had stopped issuing flight permits and declared the airport closed after visibility remained at 400 meters – falling as low as 50 meters in the morning – far below the minimum aviation standard of 1,600 meters.
The closure led to the cancellation of 14 domestic and regional flights, leaving hundreds of outbound passengers stranded.
A Batavia Air passenger, Yanto, who was going to Surabaya, said he had waited a whole day before getting confirmation that his flight had been canceled.
The head of Tjilik Riwut's weather bureau, Imam Mashudi, said he doubted the situation would improve quickly.
"The smog is thickening again because the burning of land [for plantations] continues to go on unabated around Palangkaraya," Imam said. "To make matters worse, the wind speed has been low, at only two knots [3.8 kph]."
Mashudi also said that fires in peat seams, although appearing extinguished on the surface, continued to simmer underground, spreading the fire wherever the seams pass.
Masnellyarti Hilman, the deputy of Nature Conservation Enhancement and Environmental Degradation Control, said the government had already taken steps to apprehend those behind the fires.
"Today I received a report that the police had arrested 18 suspects," Masnellyarti said. "However, we must be careful not to generalize all the fires as man-made, because they can also start naturally in peatland."
Most fires have so far been blamed on land clearing, both by small-scale farmers and plantation companies, to ready the land for the new planting season.
Although land clearance by burning has been banned, enforcement in the field remains weak due to financial and manpower constraints.
Corruption among the police and local administrations has also been blamed for the continuing practice.