Master plan against flooding has a high drawing board content
The flood master plan, for which the government has earmarked 300 billion baht, is still far from being implemented. It looks good on the drawing board, but hardly any fieldwork has been done into its feasibility.
Pramote Maiklad, former head of the Royal Irrigation Department, says the government is skipping an important phase by now wanting to put works out to tender. “Besides the technical issues, what needs to be worked out are the social and environmental factors,” he says.
Pramote gives as an example the intention to build the controversial Kaeng Sue Tan dam in the Yom River and the plans to drain excess water to rice fields. "How can the government do that if it doesn't address residents' concerns and consider the potential impact on their livelihoods?" A dangerous course of events, he believes, which can ultimately lead to plans not being fully implemented and money, time and effort being wasted.
Eight strategic plans
According to Spectrum, the Bangkok Post's Sunday supplement, the master plan consists of eight strategic plans:
- Restoration and conservation of forests and ecosystems.
- Revision of reservoir management and water management plans.
- Overhaul of the water infrastructure.
- Development of warning systems.
- Development of contingency plans.
- Development of water storage areas.
- Overhaul of the chain of command.
- Development of public hearings and consultation systems for water management.
.
Although conservation of forests and ecosystems is at the top of the agenda, the development of the Kaeng Sua Tan and Mae Wong dams is a priority. 50 billion baht has been allocated for this.
Priority is also given to the development of water storage areas, a measure farmers such as Vichian Phumlamjiak, chairman of the newly established Thai Rice Farmers and Farm Folks Association, from Ayutthaya is deeply concerned.
He has met with officials and farmer leaders several times since last year and has been told that he and his fellow farmers will have to make sacrifices to keep Bangkok dry. But details and updates are missing.
Although this month tropical storm Gaemi did not bring the feared floods, his 30 rai field and those of other farmers have been flooded. None of the government representatives want to talk about that, he says. But the farmers, wised by last year, had already harvested their rice.
Some farmers don't get a penny
The government's plan to use the paddy field irrigation system as a temporary storage area has been called unrealistic by an Irrigation Department official. 'Those irrigation systems are not designed for large amounts of water. We are afraid that we will be asked to do something that cannot be done.'
There are also many other problems, such as compensation payments for duped farmers, the choice of storage areas, which can be influenced by politicians, and to top it off: farmers with non-irrigated fields do not receive a penny, because the government reasons that their fields would naturally already be flooded.
(Source: Spectrum, Bangkok Post, October 14, 2012)
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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Only when the police chief of Bangkok (??) decided to manually clean sewers with a group of prisoners, it turned out that sandbags were found. Abhisit cs immediately shouted that Yingluck cs must have had a hand in this. This with the aim of influencing the upcoming (governor?)election in Bangkok.
What turned out? It is a "polder" system that has been used for years, copied from the Netherlands: parts that can flood due to overflowing sewers are closed with sandbags in certain places and the abundant water created elsewhere is drained to rivers / canals with pumps!
Even Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi (Minister of Science and Technology), chairman of the (government) Water and Flood Management Commission, was not even aware of this and spoke of it as a shame. Until the municipality of Bangkok had explained this to Plodprasop……
So everyone immediately has an opinion and expresses it publicly in the press without knowing the facts. Combine that with an ingrained hatred of plans in many Thais and the recipe is clear. Especially when you consider that people like to show in front of the TV etc that they are “decisive”. If the long-term consequences turn out wrong, it will be your successor's turn…
Dick: I notice that too and Bangkok Post publishes all those opinions unchecked. I think that's bad journalism.
In Holland they use large inflatable balloons instead of sandbags.
Many areas were flooded last year because the water ran onto the road via the klongs, then you can still build such high dikes, but that doesn't help or you have to close all those klongs.