Severe drought hits parts of Chiang Mai

CHIANG MAI: -- Many areas in Thailand’s second largest city of Chiang Mai in the northern region have been hit by severe drought.

Villagers in the districts of Mae Ai and Phang have particularly been facing serious water shortages for several weeks.

More than 100 households in Mae Ai district have complained of the lack of water both for personal use and for irrigating their plants, the vice chairman of the Mae Sao sub district administrative office, Polrob Paimuang, told TNA.

Soya bean and orange plantations have been badly affected, he said.

The shortage of water could lead to violence as a result of disputes between farmers over the control of water resources in the area, Mr. Polrob warned.

Local farmers are facing severe difficulties because of the severe drought, Nivet Utcharoen, chief of Agriculture and Cooperatives office in Phang told TNA.

Farmers need to avoid cultivating plants that need large amount of water to grow, he said.

Farmers should also plan to manage their own water resources in order to minimise the damages to their crops.

The country's north-eastern and southern regions are also experiencing severe drought.

The government has provided several billion baht to help the agricultural sector and rural areas, including distributing water and artificial rain, and finding new sources of water.

--TNA 2006-02-18

Hey, they can't even get one 'fact' in the first setence right, what other 'facts' did they ###### up?