News in brief from Thailand – December 8
Prime Minister Yingluck's Facebook team has been fired for the blunder it made by posting a picture of King Ananda in Yingluck's call for people to attend the King's birthday festivities.
– Parts of Bangkok, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Chachoengsao, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon are still under water. The worst should be over in 10 to 15 days, says Froc spokesman Thongthong Chandrangsu. The Froc will focus on treating rotting water with EM balls, mosquito control, medical care and cleaning up rubbish and abandoned and damaged household items.
– In Bangkok there is still 8 billion cubic meters of water and in some central provinces north of Bangkok also 8 billion. Half of that water is stored for agricultural use, the other half disappears naturally.
– In Bangkok and neighboring provinces, the flooded area has decreased from 2,7 million rai on November 12 to 1 million rai, mostly rice fields and grassland in the western districts of Bangkok.
– There is hardly any water on the east side of Bangkok. The water is draining faster than expected to the Bang Pakong River.
– Residents of Thatcha Villa yesterday threatened to block the Vibhavadi-Rangsit road if they are not helped quickly enough. The district has been under water for 45 days now. Representatives of the residents have handed over a petition to the assistant secretary of the Froc.
– The Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc), the crisis center of the government, is being curtailed but the chain of command remains unchanged. The decision was made yesterday after Froc director Pracha Promnok consulted with the governors of seven provinces still under water. Bangkok was represented by the city clerk. Froc's headquarters will remain in the Ministry of Energy.
– So far there have been no major disease outbreaks, apart from less serious diseases such as athlete's foot, infections of the upper respiratory tract, conjunctivitis and food poisoning. Health authorities are warning residents returning to their homes about fungal diseases and other illnesses associated with contaminated water. The lack of proper sanitation and waste processing is a particular source of concern.
– The government has formed a panel tasked with shutting down websites that are anti-monarchy. The committee must coordinate the work of the services that are already involved in this. Opposition party Democrats previously urged strict action against websites and social media that are guilty of lèse majesté.
– The government's decision to cancel some activities on the occasion of the king's birthday has gone down badly with the opposition party Democrats. According to the government, the light and sound, multimedia and holographic shows on the wall of the Grand Palace will not be repeated in order to release money for the flood victims. The Democrats don't believe it because the organizers have to be paid anyway. The government has earmarked 117 million baht for the birthday festivities.
– The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is expanding its investigation into irregularities in the purchase of aid packages. The purchases of the past 2 years (under the Abhisit government) are also being scrutinized. It is striking that all these years the items have always been supplied by the same two companies.
– Earlier reports that a top official and eleven officials of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation were involved in irregularities in the composition of the aid packages are premature, says DSI head Tharit Pengdit.