Bt100-Bn Rehabilitation Package

[Lite Beer]

Bt100-bn rehabilitation package

The Nation on Sunday

Aid will go first to Nakhon Sawan, Ayutthaya where the situation is improving slowly; six-km barrier being erected during low tide period in bid to protect inner Bangkok

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday announced a Bt100-billion flood rehabilitation package.

She said the government has set aside an initial Bt100 billion to restore homes and government offices damaged by flooding. The budget would be spent on measures and systems that could protect major economic areas from future floods, she said.

Nakhon Sawan and Ayutthaya - where flood waters were receding - would be the first in line for rehabilitation, the PM said during her weekly radio address "Yingluck Government Meets the People". The premier said the Cabinet would discuss the flood rehabilitation plan on Tuesday to fix basic infrastructure, roads, hospitals, schools and residential areas, including rehabilitation of the agricultural and industrial sectors.

She also said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Royal Irrigation Department had affirmed that if the drainage plan ran smoothly, most areas in eastern Bangkok could be spared from flooding. However, she urged residents on the capital's western Thon Buri side to be patient for a week or two as water would recede slower than in the east.

Yingluck choked back tears yesterday as she visited Nakhon Sawan, which was one of the provinces hard hit by floods but where the situation has eased.

Nakhon Sawan's governor said the province has granted 34,125 families affected by the flood Bt5,000 each, costing a total of Bt170 million.

Farmers whose rice farms were flooded have been given compensation totalling Bt372 million covering 150,545 rai out of 903,400 rai which were flooded. Another Bt1.45 billion will be given to affected farmers before November 15. Flood victims whose houses are damaged would get a maximum of Bt30,000 compensation for repairs by the end of the month. The PM granted Bt182 million for 36,498 families affected by floods.

Yingluck said Nakhon Sawan was a model province, where the people had stayed united and were patient in dealing with the floods. She said with teary eyes that two months after assuming office, she has always felt concern for flood-affected people. Now that the situation was returning to normal, she said she felt relieved.

During her weekly TV programme, the PM said the government's efforts to prevent the capital from flooding had met with several obstacles. First, the government encountered some technical problems - the water only flowed from high to low grounds, some water pumps that were being used 24 hours a day broke down, and some flood barriers could not withstand the pressure of massive volumes of water after many weeks.

The government also faced protests and pressure from flood victims who wanted to open or close sluice gates to alleviate their own plight.

Yingluck insisted that she had to take strict legal action against any one found obstructing the government's efforts to solve the flood problem because the government must protect the interest of the majority and the country.

The PM said the key instrument the government has used in solving the capital's flood problem was laying big bags over six kilometres in length on a road from Rangsit to Muang Ek. The work is almost complete except for putting smaller sandbags to plug gaps between big bags. Once the job is completed, the flood waters would be drained from Don Muang and Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, which are expected to be dry within two weeks.

Twenty-seven large-sized water pumps will be used to drain water out of Klongs 8, 9, 10 and 13 to push the water out to the sea as fast as possible.

The military would help deploy troops to solve technical problems in draining the water out of Klong Bang Khen, Klong Bang Sue, and Klong Lat Phrao, including Klong Saen Saeb. More pumps would be used to pump the water of these areas.

Next week, during the low tide period, 500 national park officials will work on putting up flood barriers six kilometres along Hathairat Road to prevent waters from intruding into the inner city, as requested by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Drainage Office.

As for water management in western Bangkok, Chao Phraya Dam will cut release of water by almost 60 million cubic metres per day by November 12. The Irrigation Department will work on repairing 14 leaks in embankments along the Chao Phraya River by November 13. If all went according to plan, the flood situation in western Bangkok should ease by the middle of the month.

The government has also supported the BMA by providing large water pumps to drain as much water as possible from Klong Thawi Watthana, Maha Sawat and Phasi Charoen into the Tha Chin and Chao Phraya rivers.

-- The Nation 2011-11-06

[MaxYakov]

Yes, the rehabilitation has officially begun! Thai TV 3 in a segment this morning covered the PM's personal effort of repainting an outside wall in (recovering) Nakon Sawan. Optics, optics, optics.

[bushwacker]

<" the water only flowed from high to low grounds">

Unbelievable, why did we not know this would happen. It totally caught everybody by surprise!

[maidu]

Is there a map which shows relatively higher ground? Where are the closest regions to Bkk which are not flood-prone? Wherever those properties are, is where all moveable functions of Bkk should be moved to. Gov't services, wats, universities, residences, etc. should all consider moving to higher ground. Subsequent floods will be worse than this one. This year it's 100Bn (much of which goes in to politicians' pockets). Subsequent years: 200Bn, 400Bn, 1 trillion baht.

Where are smart pills when you need them? Two pills, twice a day for each gov't worker, chased by a glass full of flood water.

What next bright idea from the Science Minister? (who knows less about science than the average Norwegian 3rd grader). After 1,000 boats revving their engines and achieving nothing except a cloud of smog and added revenue for petrol sellers. Perhaps he'll suggest injecting tons of silicone gel in to the sinking mud flats which support what remains of Bkk.