Short flood news 5 December
More than a hundred residents of Putthamonthon Sai 4 (Nakhon Pathom) blocked the Putthamonthon Sai 4 road on Sunday.
As with all other residents' actions, they demanded that the water be drained from their neighborhood more quickly. Authorities promised to install water pumps and deploy vehicles to transport commuters. The residents also asked for EM balls to treat the contaminated water.
– In eleven districts of Bangkok, the water is now at a safe level, says governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra. The residents of those districts can return to their homes. The governor is still concerned about the Setthakit housing estate (Bang Kae), where the water is 40 cm high and about the high water level in the nearby channels Thawi Watthana and Maha Sawat. Only when the water in those channels settles can drainage of Setthakit begin. The water is also high in the Annex (Sai Mai) district, but fortunately the water level of Khlong 2 is falling. The district can be isolated so that the water can be pumped into the canal. The governor expects the district to be dry by the end of the month.
– Main roads such as Vibhavadi-Rangsitweg and Boromratchonnaneeweg will be dry in 3 to 4 days, but if more water arrives, only in 2 weeks, said the governor.
– Residents in Pathum Thani complain about the amount of rubbish lying on the streets. Cleaning was recently carried out, but the operation was limited to government buildings, a fresh market, the residence of the provincial governor and the provincial government building.
- Minister Pracha Promnok (Justice), director of the Flood Relief Operations Command, says staff numbers are being cut as the crisis has become less severe.
– Member of Parliament Wanchai Charoennonthasit (Pheu ภาษาไทย) denies that he distributed rice and chilli paste, whose shelf life had expired, in the Bua Thong housing estate (Nonthaburi). Residents had complained that the sacks of rice bore the year 2008 plus the recommendation to consume the rice before 2010. According to Wanchai, old sacks were used to pack the rice. He said nothing about the chili.
– 8 billion baht is needed to save the nationally famous pomelo orchards in Sam Phran district (Nakhon Pathom) from severe flooding, says Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut. The orchards have been under water since the beginning of last month, causing the trees on 3.000 of the 5.000 rai in four villages to die. If the government or the private sector don't step in, the pomelo is all over. The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) deployed 31 pumps to drain the area. The water is drained to the Ta Chin River. The water supply from the North to the river is restricted to aid drainage. It takes a month before the orchards are presentable again.
– The water discharge from many canals west of the Chao Praya River is extremely slow, as a result of which a lot of water remains in lower lying areas.
– The Minister of Agriculture has advised the RID to build a new pumping station with 12 pumps at the Khlong Maha Sawat. This channel is the main channel on the west side of the Chao Praya River. It has a length of 28 km and runs from Ta Chin in the east to Khlong Lat Bang Khrua, which flows into the Chao Praya.
– Citizen groups are going to draw up their own version of a national water management plan because they are afraid that the government will not give them a say in the plans. The citizen plan should serve as an alternative to the plan drawn up by the Water Resources Management Committee set up by the government. That committee consists mainly of officials and technocrats. The local population or citizen groups are not represented in it, while citizens will still be most affected by the plans.