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Political Will To Minimise Flood Impacts Is Lacking: Thai Opinion


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Posted

BURNING ISSUE

Political will to minimise flood impacts is lacking

Avudh Panananda

The Nation

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With or without the government's drainage efforts, floodwater will inevitably find its way to the sea.

If politicians of all stripes stop playing politics with the water, then one of the worst floods in recent memory will come to pass by next month. Otherwise the flooding might persist for an extra one or two months.

Political dramas like reshuffling the Cabinet, faulting the prime minister and passing the blame between Pheu Thai and Democrats will just complicate the already chaotic situation.

All sides should brace for the harsh reality about rebuilding the country in the wake of havoc wreaked by inundation.

This year's seasonal flooding could have been much worse.

In 1942, Bangkok was transformed into a big lake for more than three months. The capital was again under chest-deep water for several months in 1983.

This year, the Chao Phraya River broke all records. But Bangkok saw less severe inundation in comparison to past floods of 1942, 1983 and 1995.

The majority of Bangkok residents suffered anxiety attacks due to poor communications from the government rather than the actual flooding.

The manufacturing sector bore the brunt of the deluge. The only consolation was that the water took weeks to creep and submerge factories, allowing time for salvage operations.

With the benefit of hindsight, government politicians could have helped to minimise the flood damage if they were not so obsessed with their political survival.

Back in September, when the water situation reached a critical level, government MPs and Cabinet members rushed to meddle with water management in order to save their political strongholds by diverting water to other people's backyards.

Politicians opted for the usual flood-fighting mode to claim credit from their voters. Everyone was freely speaking about "integrated" water management, but no one bothered to map out a comprehensive plan to drain the water from the Chao Phraya basin to the sea.

The integrated work approach became an empty phrase. Each province drew up individual plans for staying above the water without realising that separate efforts would only lead to a mutual destruction by drowning.

The seven industrial estates and thousands of factories might have been saved if the drainage of floodwater was done with the entire Chao Phraya basin in mind instead of the survival of each locality.

It is a curious coincidence that most cases of resisting and manipulating flood control measures happened in the strongholds of Pheu Thai MPs.

The main coalition party should reflect on whether its MPs should aim for the greater good or serve partisanship.

Pathum Thani is the backyard of six Pheu Thai MPs. Its Rangsit farmland has always been used for water retention in order to ease the flooding in the capital.

It is unfortunate that the spirit of cooperation has waned between the Pheu Thai-dominated province and the city administration run by Democrat Sukhumbhand Paribatra.

Of about 400 million cubic metres of floodwater wreaking havoc in the capital, more than 100 million cubic metres is entering northern and eastern Bangkok via Rangsit.

The remaining floodwater originated from Pathum Thani before submerging Nonthaburi's two districts, Bang Kruai and Bang Bua Thong on the way to inundating western Bangkok.

Bangkok inundation happened under suspicious circumstances. Some said it was an accident due to flawed flood barriers. The others voiced suspicion about a hasty decision to divert water to outer Bangkok in order to save the inner city areas.

Unless the Pheu Thai Party can redeem itself by demonstrating decisive leadership on flood control, confidence in the recovery efforts will continue to plummet.

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-- The Nation 2011-11-08

Posted

Avudh seems to have become a little muddled in this one. It is well known across Thailand that the two main areas that tried to resist water management were Suphan Buri (CTP land) resulting in worse flooding and danger in Chainat and Lopburi (quite PTP land) and Bangkok resulting in worse flooding in the PTP surrounding provinces. It is also difficult to argue that the PTP MPs in Pathum Thani have not taken pain to protect BKK if as Avudh then says the Pathum Thani farmland has been inundated to protect BKK. Quite bizarre

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