Daha Utara Police, PT SAM collaborate to prevent forest fire

Kandangan, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Daha Utara Sector Police (precinct) collaborates with PT Subur Agro Makmur (SAM) to prevent forest and land fires (karhutla) through short-message service (SMS) to be sent to the local residents.

Daha Utara Police Chief Sec. Insp. (Ipda) Adhi N Saputra in Nagara on Friday (Sept 3, 2021) said 5,000 SMS were distributed by cooperating with South Hulu Sungai (HSS) Communication and Informatic Agency and one provider with a radius of spread around the Daha Utara.

"We together with stakeholders, namely one of the palm oil companies, PT SAM, are trying to prevent forest and land fires," he said, Friday.

PT SAM, a subsidiary of Astra Group, owns approximately 12 thousand hectares of land in North, South, and West Daha.

The SMS sending was done at 10.30. The SMS contains an appeal to avoid hotspots.

Farmers are asked to be careful and not to burn land or forest because the impact of fires threatens the health, respiratory problems, eye pain, asthma, bronchitis, and others.

Anyone who burns forest or land is subject to Article 78 paragraph 3 Law No. 41 of 1999 with a maximum imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum fine of IDR5 billion.

"If you see forest and land fire please inform the task force of the village or sub-district, or bhabinkamtibmas (public order police officer), and PT SAM Fire Protection team so they are immediately extinguished," he said.

Community Development Officer (CDO) of PT SAM Budhi Wahyudi said the company has always been active in coordination and taking joint action with all elements of society and local government to create conducive situations, helping to accelerate the handling of fire and COVID-19.

On behalf of PT SAM's management, he thanked the government as well as the people who have played an active role in creating zero fire in the West and South Daha Sub-district.

"Hopefully the sky West Daha and South Daha and HSS District will always be blue," he said.