Thousands
of Indonesians have taken to prayer in the hope for rain and ending
the dry weather along with the smoke haze it brings. The unusually dry
conditions in recent months, including Indonesia, has seen very
little rain because of an El Nino weather pattern
"We're
doing everything we can, now we pray to Allah for the rain,"
deputy provincial governor Edy Nasution, said.
Mosques
in Malaysia have also been encouraged to hold prayers for rain, said
the head of Malaysia's Islamic Development Department, Mohamad
Nordin.
Fires
have burnt through parts of Sumatra and Borneo island for more than a
month. 5,062 fire "hot spots" had been detected in six
Indonesian provinces and the government has sent 9,000 military,
police and disaster agency personnel to fight the flames. Indonesian
authorities are using 37 helicopters and 239 million litres of water
bombs to attack the blazes while aircraft were seeding clouds in the
hope of generating rain.
The
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said small-scale farmers
were being blamed for fires started by palm oil plantation companies.
"Actions
by the central and local governments have not been strong enough
against companies in industrial forests or palm plantations on peat
lands. They always blame the community," said Muhammad
Ferdhiyadi of the group's South Sumatra branch.
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