Residents cry foul over peat fire
Residents cry foul over peat fire
15 March 2014
published by www.nst.com.my
Malaysia — Although the haze situation in several parts of Selangor has improved in the last 12 hours ago, several residents in Klang are worried on the effects of peat fires in Kampung Johan Setia, Jalan Kebun here.
The peat fires have contributed to the high air pollutant index (API) in the Klang Valley.
A check by Bernama found that Bandar Puteri residents, who live closer to Kampung Johan Setia, are the most affected by the thick smoke.
According to a resident in Bandar Puteri, Lynda Leong, 26, the haze situation had gone from bad to worse over the past few days.
“The haze situation has affected my daily routine as I am not able to take part in any outdoor activities,” she told Bernama.
Meanwhile, R. Prashaandra, 27, from Bandar Puteri finds it difficult to sleep at night, claiming that the haze has affected his health.
My eyes are itchy and teary. The haze has also aggravated my sinus problem,” he said.
However another resident from Jalan Tengku Kelana, Maheswary Ramasamy said the haze situation in her area had improved with the help of some drizzle yesterday.
Meanwhile Selangor State Executive Councillor Elizabeth Wong said the state environment department had opened 12 investigation papers on big scale open burnings with a view to prosecute the culprits.
She said fires in Selangor were currently under control even though some of the fires were located in highly inaccessible areas.
“The air quality has improved rapidly in the last 12 hours. We will continue to observe the situation,” she added.
Port Klang recorded a drop in the API reading, which was 136 at 2pm today.
Several other areas also recorded a drop in the API reading, including Banting, Selangor (115), Kuala Selangor (83), Shah Alam 95 and Petaling Jaya 92.
