Pekanbaru (Antara Bali) - The United States' NOAA 18 Satellite, which is operated from Singapore, detected 48 hotspots across Sumatra Island, including 27 in the Riau Province.
"The number increased from 40 in Sumatra Island, including the 14 detected in the Riau Province, on Monday (March 3)," Agus Wibowo of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said here on Wednesday.
Of the Riau Province's 27 hotspots, nine were detected in Pelalawan, six in Meranti, five in Siak, four in Indragiri Hilir, two in Bengkalis and one in Indragiri Hulu.
In March 2014, the NOAA 18 Satellite detected a total of 332 hotspots across Sumatra Island, and the largest number was in the Riau Province, which had 224 hotspots.
Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Syamsul Maarif stated that about 99 percent of the forest and plantation fires in Sumatra Island and Kalimantan were deliberately lit.
"There should be sanctions to stop recurrences. The slash-and-burn farming methods exist in Sumatra Island and Kalimantan, but it is important to control them," Syamsul Maarif noted in a statement on Feb. 28.
"There are several reasons for the decision to set fires in the plantation and forest areas, such as economic, social and cultural factors," he explained.
The Riau Province's police on Feb. 28 announced that 40 people have been named as suspects in the forest and plantations fires across several districts and cities.
"All of them have been detained after being identified as suspects for allegedly setting fires deliberately in the past several weeks," Senior Commissioner Estuning of the Riau Province's police force, who is also the commander of the plantation fire task force, told the press.
The suspects were all individuals, she added. She also said, "The cases allegedly involving companies are still under investigation."
The Riau Province's police force that have set up a legal enforcement task force are currently investigating 31 cases of fire in the province, she explained.
All the suspects are being handled by each of their respective regions, such as Bengkalis, Meranti, Rokan Hilir, Siak, Pekanbaru and Dumai City.
She pointed out that the number of suspects may increase as there have been many outbreaks of fire in the province. (*/DWA)
