SHAH ALAM (March 20): The Selangor Department of Environment (DoE) has mobilised patrol teams to prevent open burning activities during the current spell of hot weather.

Selangor Environmental, Green Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said the teams were mobilised in early February to patrol areas where open burning occurred frequently.

“The patrolling is done in stages starting from 2pm until 11pm and we are also deploying drones to detect such activities.

“Among the areas prone to open burning are Johan Setia (Klang) where the activity is carried out by certain parties in the agricultural land there,” he said at the lobby of the State Legislative Assembly here, today.

“In order to curb open burning activities, an immediate compound of RM2,000 will be imposed on anyone found carrying out the activity. We will come down hard on the culprits and there will be no compromise.

“From January up to today, DoE has issued compounds to five companies for open burning activities,” he said.

According to him, the Air Pollutant Index (API) obtained by DoE’s five monitoring stations recorded moderate API readings of 51 to 100 as at 3pm yesterday.

The five air quality monitoring stations are in Shah Alam, Banting, Port Klang, Kuala Selangor and Petaling Jaya.

“We urge the public to reduce outdoor activities. Schools are advised to halt all out of classroom activities involving students and to postpone gatherings and sports programmes that are held out of buildings,” he said.