Riau Suffers Rp10 Trillion Loss due to Haze

Pekanbaru, Riau (Antara)- Riau province has suffered a loss worth Rp10 trillion due to haze from forest and plantation fires, stated Viator Butar Butar, the deputy chairman of te Riau Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Economic and International Cooperation Section. The Rp10 trillion loss was counted, among other things, from the slowdown of business productivity and goods and people mobility, the cancellation or postponement of flights and shipping due to haze," he explained. The Riau provincial administration has declared a state of emergency following the expanding forest and plantation fires mostly set deliberately to clear land for new plantations. Earlier, seven districts and cities of the province announced that they were in a state of emergency as the air was heavily polluted due to smog haze. Many people have suffered from respiratory problems, asthma, other health problems and other diseases due to haze, forcing them and the government to spend money on medical treatment. "The government must extinguish the fires immediately by using technology and making cloud seeding," he pointed out. Meanwhile, the number of upper respiratory tract infection cases due to haze pollution in Riau has increased from 15 thousand to 20 thousand. "The data on the number of upper respiratory tract infection sufferers has been collected from various districts in the province since January, this year," Head of Riau Province's Health Service Zainal Arifin stated on Monday. He noted that in January, the number of people ailing from respiratory infections was five thousand. However, the number spiraled to 15.2 thousand sufferers last week and further rose to the current figure of 20 thousand. (*)