inp.polri.go.id - Banjarmasin. To prevent wildfires near Syamsudin Noor Airport, the South Kalimantan Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency (PUPR Kalsel) deployed 42 personnel to wet the land and use infrastructure to regulate water flow patterns. 

Head of the South Kalimantan PUPR Province, Ahmad Solhan, said that his officers who joined the wildfire task force (Satgas) wet the land in the Guntung Damar area, Landasan Ulin District, Banjarbaru, which is close to Syamsudin Noor Airport.

"So officers prepare infrastructure and water management patterns for land wetting," he said on Wednesday (10/2/2024).

On this occasion, he explained that personnel from the PUPR Service of South Kalimantan regulated the water flow pattern from the building at the end of the primary irrigation of Riam Kanan (BRK 9), then opened the door or channel of the unit built in 2020 as an infrastructure facility for handling forest fires.

Ahmad Solhan, said that officers distribute water by opening and closing the gates at Golf and operating the Sawitan Dam to maintain the quality of the groundwater level.

"Maintaining the quality of the groundwater level is done by taking water from BRK 9 Riam Kanan so that the groundwater level always wets the fire-prone areas," he said.

He also explained that the existence of the BRK 9 Riam Kanan and Sawitan Dam infrastructure supports personnel in reducing disruptions due to forest and land fires around Guntung Damar and Syamsudin Airport.

He said that this step anticipates disruptions or obstacles to aircraft operations at Syamsudin Noor Airport due to smoke caused by forest and land fires. "Thankfully, we have implemented this initiative since 2023," he explained.

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