REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANJARBARU -- The government has been making all-out efforts to overcome forest, bush, and land fires in several provinces of the country, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated here on Wednesday.

"The government has been making all-out efforts by involving government elements as well as the TNI (military) and the police personnel to overcome forest and land fires," he noted.

President Jokowi is currently visiting Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, to personally inspect the fires in Guntung Damar area in the village of Guntung Payung, Landasan Ulin.

He remarked that the government has already implemented measures to control the spread of fires by deploying personnel from the TNI, police, and government.

"Personnel from the Regional Disaster Mitigation Service (BPBD), Manggala Agni firefighting agency, and the TNI and Police have been deployed to fight the fires in the regions," he added.

He stated that the TNI had deployed 2,159 personnel in addition to 500 personnel from the army's strategic reserve command (Kostrad).

A CN 23 and Cassa 212 aircraft have also been deployed to conduct cloud seeding operations to produce artificial rain in a bid to overcome the fires.

"A total of 200 tons of salt have been dispersed to produce artificial rain, especially in provinces having the most number of fires, such as South Sumatra and Jambi," he pointed out.

He remarked that the government has also operated 17 helicopters to conduct water bombing over areas affected by the fires.

After observing the fires in Guntung Damar, President Jokowi also inspected fires at a location some 17 kilometers from Jalan Ahmad in the sub-district of Gambut in Banjar district.

President Jokowi, accompanied by First Lady Iriana, is scheduled to take part in the Eid Al-Adha eve prayers at Sabilal Muhtadin Grand Mosque in Banjarmasi in the evening.

On Thursday morning, Jokowi is scheduled to conduct the Eid Al-Adha prayer at Al Karoman Mosque in Martapura in the district of Banjar and visit the Botanical Garden at the South Kalimantan provincial complex in Banjarbaru.

The head of state is also accompanied by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Commander of the Defense Forces (TNI) General Gatot Nurmantyo, and Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency Willem Rampangilei.

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