REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) receives increasing demand of artificial rain to increase the water level in a number of dams to anticipate an imminent dry season.

"I have just signed a contract with Medan branch of state electricity company PT PLN general manager to fill up the Kota dan and lake Singkarak," BPPT artificial rain task force unit spokesman Heru F Widodo said on Wednesday.

Widodo said other artificial rain demands also came from Perum Jasa Tirta in East Java to fill up Sutami dam, PLN South Kalimantan branch to fill Riam Kanan dam. Private mining company PT. Vale Indonesia also have called the agency for artificial rain to water Matano, Mahalona, and Towuti lakes in South Sulawesi.

"We have no budget, we only have the technology. So we do the activities according to demand," said Widodo.

Besides to water the reservoir during the dry season, the agency usually also involved weather modification for smoke thinning that caused from land and forest fires. Last year there were five provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan requesting artificial rain, he said.

"Smoke thinning activities are usually requested by the local government to the BNPB (National Disaster Management Agency), then forwarded to our agency, but the state`s electric company and the ministry of public works usually asked directly to our agency," Widodo said.

Artificial rain demand from the disaster management agency (BNPB) is usually to address land and forest fire in areas consisting of Central Kalimantan, Jambi, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan and Riau. The Indonesian Climatology Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that the dry season in most parts of Indonesia in 2013 will occurs faster around April and May. The predictions is 10 days to one month earlier than the previous forecast in June. 

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