Indonesia's Public Works Ministry joins Jambi wildfire response

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Public Works Ministry is helping contain forest and land fires in Muaro Jambi, Jambi Province, including supplying water to firefighting teams, Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo said on Tuesday.

Hanggodo said the ministry would support drought and wildfire mitigation throughout the potentially prolonged dry season in coordination with relevant agencies.

“The ministry is not focused solely on infrastructure development. We must ensure infrastructure supports disaster mitigation, water supplies, environmental protection and community safety,” he said.

Through the Sumatra VI Jambi River Basin Organization, the ministry joined efforts to extinguish fires in a plantation area in Pematang Gajah Village, Muaro Jambi District.

Severe dry conditions caused fires across 20 hectares of highly combustible peatland on Monday, August 24, according to the provincial wildfire command post.

Although the fires have been extinguished, crews are cooling hotspots and preventing flare-ups because the region’s peat remains highly flammable.

The river basin organization worked with the Environment Ministry’s fire brigade, regional disaster agencies, military, police and other institutions during the response.

The organization deployed two portable water tanks with a combined capacity of 2,000 liters to support firefighting operations.

The Environment Ministry provided a 4,000-liter tanker, while a local disaster agency deployed another truck carrying 5,000 liters of water.

The Public Works Ministry said the river basin organization would continue coordinating with regional governments and other agencies to strengthen suppression and cooling efforts and restore public safety.

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Translator: Suharsana, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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