Open burning banned to control haze

Tourists looking across Sarawak River to the State Legislative Assembly Complex yesterday. Visibility was reduced to 1.5km in Kuching at noon. The air pollutant index in the city was 113. Sri Amans reading of 122 was the highest in the country. ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star

KUCHING: The Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) has issued statewide ban on open burning.

In a statement yesterday, the board said it would also re-evaluate pending applications for open burning, which is permitted in con-trolled circumstances under nor-mal circumstances as a way to get rid of agriculture and plantation waste.