Tuban, East Java (Antara Bali) - Minister of village development, disadvantaged regions and transmigration Marwan Jafar has urged people to conduct a special "Istiqo" prayer to ask for rain to overcome drought in the country.
"We appeal to the people to conduct an Istisqo prayer to deal with current challenges especially drought," he said during a working visit to Tuba, East Java, on Sunday.
The minister said that the drought has caused shortage of water and other needs.
"I have monitored that the drought has affected almost all regions in the country. Villagers are now facing difficulties meeting their daily needs of clean water. We are also worried harvests will fail and other village businesses such as animal husbandry, plantations and fisheries will be disrupted," he said.
He said the challenge must be overcome through physical or spiritual efforts.
"We also urged people to build solidarity and cooperation between villages in overcoming the drought problem. Villages that have abundant water supply must help other villages who suffer drought," he said.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics has said that the dry season would last until September while current wind, cloud and climate conditions are not supportive for making artificial rain and therefore villages would suffer drought. (WDY)
