Please Build, Please Stop Dam, PM Told :

[Lite Beer]

KAENG SUA TEN DAM

Please build, please stop dam, PM told

By The Nation on Sunday

Rival groups give petitions to PM during her visit to flood-hit areas in the North

Conflicting claims on the long-delayed construction of the controversial Kaeng Sua Ten Dam were made yesterday as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrived to inspect the flood situation in Sukhothai, Phrae and Nan.

The residents of Sukhothai asked her to ensure dam construction would go ahead while the villagers of Phrae sought her help to stop the project from taking shape.

Yingluck also instructed related agencies to speed up relief measures for flood victims from the repeated flooding in upper Thailand.

Yingluck was accompanied by Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, Minister of Social Development and Human Security Santi Promphat, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Theera Wongsamut, and other senior officials. The premier was warmly welcomed by some 100 local officials and residents yesterday morning at Wat Khongkha Malai in Sukhothai's Muang district, as she visited victims, including the families of four victims who had died in the floods.

About 30,000 households and 300,000 rai of farmland in nine districts of Sukhothai are currently flooded.

Yingluck also received a letter from Sukhothai village headmen requesting the government to speed up the Kaeng Sua Ten Dam construction in Phrae's Song district, as it would help prevent flood in Sukhothai.

The provincial officials' report to Yingluck's team also suggested the construction of Kaeng Sua Ten Dam as a long-term solution. They urged the government to aid talks between the people of Phrae and Sukhothai. NGOs and Phrae villagers are opposed to the dam because of fears that it would flood the country's most fertile golden teakwood populated by a large number of peacocks.

They also reported to Yingluck that the most urgent tasks were to set up a preventive centre, measure water levels to assist and evacuate people, as well as distribute food, drinking water, flat-bottomed boats, send mobile medical teams and get concerned agencies to repair appliances for victims. They would then assess the flood damage and pay compensation to the affected. Next year, they would have the Royal Irrigation Department strengthen the flood barriers and speed up the construction of Kaeng Sua Ten Dam.

They also urged the government to increase the Bt200-million budget to repair roads and bridges and increase compensation to flood-hit farmers. Yingluck said the government would work towards solving the flood problems and assisting flood victims.

At noon, Yingluck had a meeting with ministers and officials at Kong Krailat district's tambon Kong Administrative Organisation office. She said long-term solutions were needed in some areas, which have faced repeated inundation four to five times a year. She also assigned ministers and concerned agencies to lay out both long and short-term solutions to solve the flood problems. The short-term measures would focus on flood-affected residents' well-being and healthcare while a restructuring of the irrigation system would take into account long-term solutions, she said.

After the meeting, Yingluck said she had asked related officials to provide information on Kaeng Sua Ten Dam, including the pros and cons and the local people's concerns. She said she needed time to thoroughly study the problem and work on it along with officials, locals and non-governmental organisations before deciding on the next move. She said they would focus not only on building the Kaeng Sua Ten Dam but also on finding a long-term solution to prevent floods. The government has a policy to link 25 river basins together. She said she had to study the overall picture before solving each province's problems.

In Phrae, where some 21,000 residents and 110,798 rai of farmlands in eight districts were affected by floods caused by Tropical Storm Nock-Ten, Yingluck and officials gave some assistance money to the families of six dead flood victims and relief bags to affected residents at the Phrae Technology College. Residents of tambon Sa-eiab in Song district submitted a letter to the PM, opposing construction of the dam.

About 1 million rai of farmland had been damaged in flood-hit provinces, Yingluck said. The PM added that she had asked the agriculture minister to prepare relief measures for flood-affected farmers. She said they would assess the damage and consider the budget before considering the details of compensation payments.

Yingluck and the team were to stay overnight in Chiang Mai and visit Ubon Ratchathani, Mukdahan and Amnat Charoen today to discuss flood-relief measures.

In Udon Thani, Transport Deputy Minister Kittisak Hatthasonkroh yesterday officially opened a centre to assist northeastern flood victims at the Udon Thani Highway Office. Udon Thani had declared its 20 districts flood-disaster zones from August 1-4. About 518,000 people were affected and 116,300 rai of farmland damaged.

Meanwhile, Phitsanulok Governor Preecha Reuangchan yesterday inspected riverside areas in Muang district to prepare for the predicted overflowing of the Nan River, which could inundate the riverside and low-lying areas today. Residents at risk were told to move their belongings to higher ground. Officials piled sandbags along the river and turned on four of the 20 prepared water pumps in order to drain water out of the city's water-drainage pipe system into the Nan River.

In Lampang's Chae Hom district, relatives of 36-year-old Somboon Jangkaew, who went missing in the Wang River on August 1, said yesterday that the dead body of a man in the river in tambon Tha Pha was not Somboon. Officials are continuing their search for his body, suspected to be under the Khiew Khor Ma Dam. In Thoen district, farmers in tambon Thoen Buri, Mae Thod and Mae Wa, where 800 rai of rice fields were damaged by floods triggered by storm Nock-Ten on August 2, complained that they had not received any help yet. They said their seasonal rice-growing had to be postponed as there was no hope of repaying debts.

-- The Nation 2011-08-14

[Lite Beer]

PM hires chopper for trip

By Chanikarn Poomhirun

The Nation on Sunday

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday visited flooded areas of the country on a rented helicopter.

An informed source reported that although some ministers and officials were onboard the Royal Thai Police's Bell 212 helicopter, Yingluck hopped on the Eurocopter EC130 helicopter that she rented with unlimited hours of use from the private company Advanced Aviation.

The company charges around Bt66,000 per hour for such aircraft.

The source said that Yingluck used her own money to rent the Eurocopter for the trip to inspect the flood situation. It was because she had not yet officially reported on the prime minister's duty by declaring her government's policy before Parliament, and there could be a problem with reimbursement. The source also said that she felt confident and safe when using a private helicopter.

With Yingluck were Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, permanent secretary for Interior Wichien Chavalit, security officials and a Channel 11 cameraman. Last month, three Army helicopters, flying on duty, crashed in Kaeng Krachan National Park and killed 16 soldiers and one cameraman.

-- The Nation 2011-08-14

[PoorSucker]

The source also said that she felt confident and safe when using a private helicopter.

But the army said that the three recent helicopter crashes was a coincident.

[janverbeem]

66.000 Baht/hour sounds like a small mistake from the Nation reporters to me

[PoorSucker]

66.000 Baht/hour sounds like a small mistake from the Nation reporters to me

Yes, cheap.

2,500 USD/hour (plus taxes & fees)

http://www.tropicaleasy.com/files/eg/tours/eg_tours_Helicopter.html

Maybe she gets discount and frequent flyer bonus.

[Gonsalviz]

66.000 Baht/hour sounds like a small mistake from the Nation reporters to me

It's only government money.

[Ricardo]

PM hires chopper for trip

By Chanikarn Poomhirun

The Nation on Sunday

<snip for brevity>

The source said that Yingluck used her own money to rent the Eurocopter for the trip to inspect the flood situation. It was because she had not yet officially reported on the prime minister's duty by declaring her government's policy before Parliament, and there could be a problem with reimbursement.

<snip for brevity.

-- The Nation 2011-08-14

It's only government money.

No, as the above quote makes clear, she paid herself because the government would probably not pay.

[webfact]

Comprehensive flood plan needed before deciding on dam in North: PM

By The Nation

A comprehensive flood prevention system must be introduced, otherwise any efforts in a single province would inevitably affect others, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday.

Short-term solutions by the government included flood relief, remedial moves, assessing and compensating flood damage, Yingluck said. But long-term solutions would come from all sides discussing how to tackle floods better, especially the irrigation system.

But a comprehensive flood prevention system was needed before going into detail about the role of each province in any concerted effort. She said cash would be found for short-term solutions while also responding to long-term challenges.

Following her talk with the Royal Irrigation Department chief on Sunday, the PM said there would be a workshop with varying parties to try to find long-term solutions for provinces suffering floods each year.

Commenting on the controversial Kaeng Sua Ten dam proposal, Yingluck said there was a need for floodwater to be retained in various provinces. But the waterway had to be traced from its source to downstream in each province to determine flood solutions. This would produce a more direct answer than merely arguing whether the Kaeng Sua Ten dam should be built.

Meanwhile, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Surasawadee said he would put information from the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute and the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency to the Cabinet today to recommend that it be used to help with water management and forecasting to prevent severe floods.

Residents in Phitsanulok's Phrom Phiram district continued to suffer flooding yesterday, especially rice farmers who have spent tens of thousands of baht draining water from submerged fields over the past three days. They called for the Kaeng Sua Ten dam to be built, as they believe it will stop frequent floods in Yom River basin provinces. In Bang Rakham district, five schools have been temporarily closed due to flooding.

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Wibul Sanguanpong said the storm Nock-Ten triggered floods that killed 24 people, and nine provinces still face difficulties. They are Phrae, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Ayutthaya, Mukdahan and Ubon Ratchathani. Some 285,654 people were still affected.

In Surat Thani's Ban Na San district, 200 flood victims from Ban Mor Ket, which was submerged for nearly a month, rallied in front of the district office yesterday to demand funding to help them cope with damage to their homes, as only 23 out of the village's 123 families had received compensation. District chief Jisak Chairit said he would ask the provincial disaster prevention office for an explanation. Villagers have been told by district officials that some families had yet to submit the required documents.

-- The Nation 2011-08-16