News from Thailand – March 20, 2012

The municipality of Bangkok will use ultrasonic equipment to check old roads, roads near canals and roads under which old sewage pipes are located. On Sunday evening, part of the Rama IV collapsed, presumably because soft clay from the topsoil had leaked into the 40-year-old sewage system. There was a hole of 5 by 3 by 2 meters.

There are three tunnels under the hole: a water pipe with a diameter of 1,2 meters at a depth of 2 meters, the sewage system that has an oval shape of 3×3,5 meters at a depth of 12 meters and a metro tube with a wall thickness of 1 meter at a depth of 22 meters.

An investigation by the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority and the MRTA (subway) has shown that the water mains and subway tube are intact. It is not the first time that a road has collapsed in Bangkok. In 2009 and 2010, pieces of Rama III and Chong Nonsi collapsed in 20 places. In addition to the old sewage system under Rama IV, Bangkok still has two old sewage pipes: under the Henri Dunant road and in Sena Nikhom.

– Prime Minister Yingluck was enthusiastically received by about 6.000 women yesterday in the South, traditionally the stronghold of the current opposition party Democrats. Yingluck promised to support the Women's Empowerment Fund of 7,7 billion baht, which will be distributed across all provinces in proportion to the number of inhabitants. More than 30.000 women in Phangnga province have already signed up for the fund, which aims to strengthen the position of women in society.

Yingluck and her cabinet held a mobile meeting in the South for the first time since Pheu Thai came to power. Brother Thaksin, who rules the party in the background, is not very popular in the South. When the violence was still brewing, he ridiculed it as the work of jon krajok (despicable thieves). Thaksin also said that support for his party was a condition for being allocated money. That remark caused quite a stir among the local population, the majority of whom are pro-Democrats.

– The army calls Thirayuth Boonmi's claim about a possible coup a myth. Thirayuth, director of Thammasat University's Sanya Dhammasaki Foundation for Democracy, said Sunday that a coup is likely if the government grants amnesty to former prime minister Thaksin.

Amnesty would be the result of the annulment of the decisions of the military regime, instituted after the September 2006 coup. The King Prajadhipok Institute recently proposed this. Earlier, Nitirat, a group of progressive teachers at Thammasat University, made the same proposal. There are fears that the planned constitutional amendment will contain such an annulment.

Noppadon Pattama, legal adviser to Thaksin, says Thirayuth's analysis shows a strong bias against Thaksin. According to Noppadon, the military coup is the cause of all the problems in the country. It interrupted democratic development and pushed the law aside.

– Seventy percent of health care spending in many countries, inclusive Thailand, goes to curative care, which is an indication that governments are paying little attention to preventive care. This said Samlee Plianbangchang, director of the WHO Southeast Asia region yesterday on the first day of a conference in Bangkok with participants from twelve Southeast Asian countries. Several diseases are currently a major health threat: diabetes, heart disease, diseases of the blood vessels, cancer and asthmatic conditions. With better prevention campaigns, they can be prevented, says Samlee.

– Air pollution in Mae Sai district (Chiang Rai) is increasing due to the cool weather and as fires continue. With 431,6 micrograms per cubic meter, the concentration of particulate matter is well above the safety limit of 120 ug/cu-m. Mae Hong Son district is also on the unsafe side with 367,6 ug/cu-m. The cool weather prevents the mist from rising.

In the other northern provinces, a short period of stir provided some relief. But in Chang Mai province in Muang district, a school measured 216,65 ug/cu-m yesterday. Five fires were extinguished in Suthep-Pui national park on Saturday after villagers tried to burn land bare.

The Air Force has offered to discharge water with two aircraft. 3.700 liters of water can be sprayed over an area of ​​1 rai per aircraft. The aircraft can make 12 flights per day.

Minister Worawat Ua-apinyakul (PM's Office) has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise the nebula issue at the next ASEAN meeting, as the issue is cross-border. The ministry has asked Myanmar for help in containing fires. But the problem is not easy to solve because farmers in Myanmar are busy burning down parts of the forest for the construction of rubber plantations.

- Animal rights activists have asked police to take legal action against the producers of a documentary about keeping falcons in the TV show Kob Nok Kala. According to the complainants, the program presented a one-sided view of falconry, but it said nothing about the trauma of captive animals and it also encouraged the capture of falcons in the wild. All of that would be in violation of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act of 1992.

– A 'green' building will be built in honor of the king on Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok. It will be located where the Government Lottery office is now. The costs of 2 billion baht are funded by the National Economic and Social Development Board. The building, in which energy-saving principles are applied, will house historical exhibitions.

– With the exception of 12 merchants, who had problems with paperwork, all merchants at the Chatuchak weekend market have extended their contracts with the new operator. On January 1, the State Railway of Thailand took over operation from the Bangkok Municipality and increased the rent to 3.562 baht per month. Tomorrow the SRT will appear before the Administrative Court. A group of 14 merchants went to the administrative court. They object to the rent increase and want to be involved in the management of the market.

– A French couple was arrested yesterday at the border with Cambodia in the province of Sa Kaeo because they wanted to smuggle two bronze Hindu statues into the country: a Ganesha and a Brahma. According to them, they were imitations that they had bought in Siem Reap.

– The cabinet is today considering a proposal for paternity leave of 15 days for civil servants. Women are already entitled to 90 days of paid leave.

– The provincial electoral council of Kanchanaburi is investigating alleged fraud in Sunday's elections of the chairman of the provincial administration organisation. Whoever finished second has asked for the investigation.

– The Blue Flag stores will be given a new name. Henceforth they are called Too Jai (Favorite). Twenty products are sold in the shops at a reduced price for people with a low income. The name change is related to the expansion of the program. There will be 10.000 stores in the country, 2.000 of which will be in Bangkok.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post