Smoky and Hazy Days

The smoky and hazy days are here again. We hope they won't stay for long. Today was relatively better compared to the last couple of days. According to reports by The Star on 20th February 2008 and 22nd February 2008, these smoky and hazy udara were the result of open burning by some illegal farmers who were clearing private land and the estate in two areas near Kampung Johan Setia, which is quite near / next to Kota Kemuning. We must "thank" them for their extremely "fresh" @#$% udara!!!

“We have issued two fines of RM2,000 each to the plantation for open burning and also directed the owners to stop the spread of the fires,” said Che Asmah (Selangor Department Of Environment Director). Well, what will RM2,000 do to these folks ... No wonder they stick to this tactic of open burning. After all, we are very sure it will take more than RM2,000 to clear the plantation if they were to employ pekerja and machineries.

Here are the two featured articles from The Star:


Smoke Smothers Klang Villages by Dharmender Singh (20th Feb 2008)
Open burning in two areas near Kampung Johan Setia here has set off peat fires and caused several areas around Klang to be covered in a cloud of smoke. Kampung Johan Setia resident Mohamad Rahmat, 63, said the village had been engulfed in smoke since late Monday, leaving many villagers suffering from breathing problems.

“My grandson and I both suffer from asthma and we have been having difficulty breathing since last night,” said the roadside corn seller. He said open fires causing the peat to smoulder was an annual occurrence as farmers cleared land to plant pineapples and vegetables in the area.

Selangor Department Of Environment director Che Asmah Ibrahim said the department had been working with the Fire and Rescue Department to bring the fires under control. She said the department could not trace the farmers who had started the fires in Kampung Johan Setia as many of them had cleared private property illegally.

Illegal open burning also set off more fires at the 40ha Meraya Pine plantation near the village.

“We have issued two fines of RM2,000 each to the plantation for open burning and also directed the owners to stop the spread of the fires,” Che Asmah said.

Selangor Multimedia, Environment and New Villages Committee chairman Datuk Ch’ng Toh Eng said local farmers and Rela members have been roped in to contain the fires. A spokesman for the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department in Shah Alam said firemen were working round the clock to put out the peat fires, spread across 161ha.

“The actual affected area is less than 3.2ha in Ladang IOI, a palm oil plantation in Kampung Johan Setia, Seri Andalas,” he said.


Smoky Days Are Here Again by Dharmender Singh (22nd Feb 2008)
Firemen working to put out the peat fires near Kampung Johan Setia are facing fresh problems in limited water sources and new fires appearing at a plot next to the Meraya Pines plantation.
Sri Andalas station chief Karim Ayob said his men spent most of Wednesday night battling the fires and had managed to reduce the area that was still smouldering but new fires were appearing about 20m from the original site.

He said about 22 firemen and 12 Rela members plus a number of plantation employees had been working to put out the fires but the task was not easy as it was difficult to reach the bottom of the over one metre deep peat. Firemen are now using three fire engines and six pumps from the department and another three pumps from the owner of the plantation.

“This is a plantation so there are no hydrants here and the two earth drains we have been pumping water from are running low on water due to the dry season,” he told StarMetro when met at the plantation recently.

The Fire and Rescue Services Department has been working for the past several days to put out the peat fires that have left several areas around Klang covered in a cloud of smoke over the last three days. The thick smoke from the fires could be seen covering areas several kilometers away from the source like Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang town, Shah Alam and even the Shah Alam Expressway (SAE). The peat fires were the result of open burning by illegal farmers who were clearing private land and the estate in two areas near Kampung Johan Setia.

Villagers and nearby residents claimed that the fires were an annual inconvenience that often left residents, especially those suffering from breathing problems, feeling ill for weeks afterwards.

Selangor Department Of Environment director Che Asmah Ibrahim said employees from the 40ha Meraya Pines plantation also joined the fire fighting efforts but they were still not able to put out the fires.

She said the thick structure of the peat made it difficult to put out the smouldering fires, which produced thick smoke but the fire had been brought under control.

“We have been able to bring it under control but it will take time to put them out completely.
“We are using all the resources we have,' she said.

On complaints that the smoke got thicker at night, Che Asmah said, affected residents around the area need not fear that people were starting fresh fires at night.

The thicker smoke at night, she said,, was due to atmospheric changes at night that reduced the dispersal of the smoke.

“During the day the heat causes turbulences in the air which helps to disperse the smoke, making it less dense but the cold air at night causes the smoke to hang in the air, thus it appears smokier,” she said.