Thailand Live Monday 28 Nov 2011

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Thailand Live Monday 28 November 2011

News, Bits and Tweets

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Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.

For breaking news,national, regional and international news updates on a daily basis only, this thread is closed to commentary so that those who wish to follow the news can find it here...

Commentary is still open for Thailand news in the relevant thread posted in News Clippings.

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Related topic: Thailand Live Sunday 27 Nov 2011

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Today's Thailand weather and forecasts:

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Man accused of beating 2y old Thai boy to death after prolonged abuse

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CENSURE DEBATE

Bad blood floods Thai parliament

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MYSTERIOUS CASH

Suphoth still mum on origin of Bt18 million stolen from home

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NO-CONFIDENCE DEBATE

DSI monitors censure

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CENSURE DEBATE

Abhisit fires big parting shot

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Supreme Court President Montri passes away

Supreme Court President Montri Yodpanya died of heart failure and blood infection following hospitalisation for cancer treatment. He was 63.

A royal-sponsored bathing rite for Montri was held yesterday at Wat Dhepsirin. Privy Councillor Thanin Kraivixien presided over the ceremony. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was among the mourners.

Montri was appointed to lead the high court last month for a two-year term.

Under judicial procedures, Phairoj Wayupak, the senior-most vice president, will be the caretaker president pending the convening of the Judiciary Commission to elect Montri's successor.

-- The Nation 2011-11-28

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AFTERMATH

Housing estates, road drying in Nonthaburi

THE NATION

Flood waters are now subsiding in many parts of Nonthaburi and, according to the provincial governor, roads in flooded housing estates should be dry by December 15.

Governor Wichien Puttiwinyu yesterday insisted that his provin?cial administration was responding to the demands made recently by local people.

"The situation should return to normal at several key spots by December 1," he said.

He was speaking as many Nonthaburi residents started major clean-up operations in areas where water had already been drained.

Most residents have already returned to many housing estates, such as Somchai Pattana, after flood water levels began to decrease. They had been forced to live elsewhere for more than one month.

Asked about a people's petition to the Administrative Court demanding that officials stop forming flood barriers along Highway 340 and draining water out near the route to the detriment of locals, Wichien said actions were taken for the benefit of the majority.

"But we are also trying to minimise impacts on the minority," he said.

He pointed out the drying of Highway 340 would allow more convenient delivery of assistance to flood-hit areas and of pumps.

In a related development, Rangsit City deputy mayor Decha Klinkusum said his administrative body would hold meetings with people from local communities today and tomorrow to plan the salvaging of their hometowns.

"We will try to drain all flood water out before December 5," he said.

Decha said people from different communities sometimes had different opinions on what needed to be done.

To prevent rifts among them, his municipality would hold separate meetings for representa?tives from different communities.

These communities are in Pathum Thani's Thanyaburi district.

Nearly 100 local people removed "big bags" on the safety island on the Pak Kret-bound lane of a section of Tiwanon Road in Pathum Thani's Muang district.

The big bags were placed there to keep one lane open for Pak Kret-bound traffic.

"Because the big bags were removed, the road has become impassable to small vehicles again," a highways official said.

In Bangkok, several main roads were also too flooded for vehicles. Impassable now are: a section of Suwinthawong Road from Ras-uthit Road to Min Buri Business Administration College Intersection; Phaholyothin Road from Bang Khen roundabout; the outbound lanes of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road from Lak Si Intersection to National Memorial; and the Nawamin Road from Ram-Indra KM 8 Intersection to Soi Nawamin 157. Meanwhile, inundation in Songkhla has also eased.

The number of flooded villages dropped from 276 to just 260 yesterday. The floods have spread across eight districts of Songkhla that have been declared disaster zones.

They are Khuan Niang, Singha-nakhon, Saba Yoi, Rattaphum, Chana, Ranot, Sathing Phra and Muang Songkhla districts.

-- The Nation 2011-11-28

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EDUCATION

Hard-hit universities begin counting the cost

WANNAPA KHAOPA

THE NATION

Pathum Thani

Losses estimated in hundreds of millions of baht; students' courses disrupted

The flooding has hit universities in the Central region hard, especially those in Pathum Thani, with losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of baht.

Apart from damaged infrastructure and educational equipment, students are unavoidably affected as floods have forced their schools to postpone the start of the second semester.

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thammasat University (TU), Kasetsart University (KU) and Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) have experienced problems with their science and engineering |laboratories, where immovable machines worth millions of baht have been submerged.

KU's agricultural machinery |has been inundated, while AIT's library has been hit hard - books kept on the first floor have |been under water for more than a month.

Rangsit University (RU)'s |studios for use by mass com-|munications students have also been hit hard, as has the univer-sity's expensive dental equip-|ment. Also, Bangkok University (BU) has a big problem with its electrical systems in many buildings, as most of the boxes used to control the systems are on the first floor. Its mass communications studios have been partially affected, according to president Mattana Santiwat.

These universities have almost completely dried out, except for AIT.

AIT waited until TU dried |out before it began pumping |water off its campus last week to avoid flooding TU, and expects |the campus to be dry by December 5. Damage assessments and |professional cleaning opera-|tions will start after that. AIT's |president, Prof Said Irandoust, |said the remaining restoration |work may take a few months to |finish.

To be able to start the new term in December, AIT plans to relocate classes temporarily to Stamford International University and Silpakorn University's Petchaburi Information Technology Campus in Cha-Am.

"We will make sure that the negative impact on our students will be minimised. AIT will try to make sure that the students who will be relocated to Cha-am will not face a negative cost impact. So, they don't have to pay for any extra charges," Irandoust added.

Each of them has suffered tremendous losses from inundated assets, totalling from Bt500 million to more than Bt2 billion.

The Office of Higher Education Commission has reported losses at 17 flooded state and private universities of Bt6.7 billion to the Education Ministry as part of its request for a recovery budget for them.

Despite such huge losses, the universities have been trying |hard to dry their flooded cam-|puses and are going to begin |rehabilitation or restoration as |soon as possible so as to have |their students start studying |in time. They don't want to postpone the reopening days any |further. The first days of the |new semester were postponed |from this month to next month, while TU, RU and BU will reopen in January.

Therefore, they are finding different ways to recover and limit the negative impact on their students. Many plan to spend their own budgets to cover urgent needs first, and will use the funds allocated by the ministry later to buy more expensive equipment and machines.

KU president Assoc Prof Vudtechai Kapilakanchana said he would spend some of the university's income to buy tools and machinery for students who have to hand in their research findings urgently, before the Education Ministry allocates the recovery budget.

RMUTT will buy objects used in classrooms, including tables and chairs, by itself but will wait for the recovery budget to buy expensive items.

However, private universities RU and BU will mainly rely on their own resources.

BU president Mattana San-|tiwat said she would file an in-surance claim and spend its own funds on recovery. "We won't |wait for the recovery budget |from the ministry. We have to help ourselves first so as to start teaching as soon as possible," Mattana said.

A source from RU said it, too, planned to spend its budget and file an insurance claim to restore damaged assets.

AIT's president said the school needed to make sure that the structure of the 40-year-old buildings on its campus were safe after being partially submerged for about a month

AIT is filing an insurance claim and seeking donations to fund the recovery of its flooded campus. Those wishing to donate should visit www.ait.ac.th/support.php for more information.

-- The Nation 2011-11-28

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STREET WISE

Spotting opportunities in the future amid the crisis

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Thailand likely to lose 400,000-750,000 foreign visitors: Flood

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Russian tourist dies after Phuket beach rescue effort

Phuket lifeguards, a nurse and a Royal Thai Navy sea rescue officer work to keep Russian tourist Uriu Varnakov alive.

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Lampang authorities inspect damage after 3 point Richter scale quake hits Mae Mo overnight; residents feel temblors /MCOT

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Residents of Chaengwattana Soi 14 gather to pressure FROC to drain floodwater from their area within 3 days /

Those living around Phraya Suren Canal demands BKK governor open sluice gate to height of 1.5m /TANN

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Justice Minister Pracha confident he did a good job clearing himself in yesterday's debate; now vote up to MPs

PM satisfied with Pracha's clarification yesterday,confident ruling coalition MPs will vote for him;no plans for Cabinet reshuffle yet /TANN

Chaengwattana 14 residents disperse gathering to pressure FROC on drainage of water /TANN

Petchkasem Soi 68 sees collapse of road for 80m stretch so motorists should beware /TANN

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489 MPs present for Pracha's censure vote; 273:188 votes for him with 5 abstentions and 15 no vote /TANN

Thai stock index opens on Monday at 977.87, up 10.69 points /MCOT

FROC chief/Justice Minister Pracha easily survives no confidence vote 273 to 188, 5 abstentions /MCOT

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Pracha survives no-confidence vote with support of 273 MPs

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Phuket 'death bend' gets 'band aid' safety, for now

Signs warning Phuket motorists of the impending curve have been erected up a kilometer before the bend.

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UK border agents 30 November strike action

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Remediation Measures Accelerated As Flood Eases In Many Provinces

The flood situation in many provinces has eased, while the government and residents are working quickly to remedy and normalize the situation.

While the flood situation in Phitsanulok province has eased, more than 10 affected children from the Wat Chan Subdistrict in Muang District and other residents gathered to make banana streamed pastries as part of the job training program for affected victims, which is allowing affected residents to earn money during this time of disaster.

In Uthai Thani Province, student volunteers from the Uthai Thani Technical College gathered to clean Mani Sathit Kapittharam Temple.

Teachers and students studying trades such as electrician training, electronics, building contracting, and engine repair have opened a service center where affected victims could get assistance and save money in repairing their damaged appliances.

In Angthong Province, the number of visitors visiting the country's biggest Buddha statue at Muang temple in Visetchaichan District has decreased 80 percent, creating stagnancy in the local economy.

The Chaiyo WorawihanTemple and Khun Inthapramun Temple have also been suffering from the same problem.

Meanwhile, the Anek Farm, which is the only floating Market in Angthong Province is still closed due to severe flooding there.

Officials have not yet determined when it will reopen.

Nonthaburi governor Vichean Putiwinyu dispatched the work of using boats to move water at the Bang Bua Thong, Pra Udom, and Aom canals, in order to discharge floodwater to the Chao Phraya River from Bang Bua Thong, Pak Kret, and Bang Yai.

Floodwater levels at residents' homes along the riverbanks has receded by 70 centimeters.

At the same time, after three months being evacuated, flood victims from the Tah Bong Mung community in Warin Chumrab District, in Ubon Ratchathani Province, have started to move from temporary shelters back home now that the water-level of the Moon river has returned to normal.

However, there are still people from 20 households who remain at the shelter, as their homes are still submerged under water.

Residents with homes that were flooded for more than three months and had severe damages done to their property have asked the government for assistance, as construction materials are now very expensive.

-- Tan Network 2011-11-28

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More Than 220,000 FROC Prank Calls

The total number of calls to the Flood Relief Operations Center during over the last two months reached 800,000 and more than 220,000 or 28.2% of them were prank calls.

Yesterday, the Flood Relief Operations Center public relations department reported that the number of calls since the FROC's inception day on October 9th through November 27th received a total of 810,000 calls approximatelay.

Around 160,000 calls came from people asking for immediate help from state agencies and authorities, while approximately 400,000 callers asked for information about the flood situation.

8,000 of the calls were complaints, and 636 of the callers called to give compliments.

The remaining calls were people asking about donations, people making suggestions, and prank calls.

The FROC reported that more than 220,000 calls, or 28.2% of the total calls to the hotline were fake.

The center is urging residents to refrain from making prank calls so that the lines are available for those who are truly in trouble.

The center has also coordinated with all telephone service providers to allow people to make free calls to the government's call center.

They are also working to add 120 additional contact numbers so that victims have receive better assistance.

-- Tan Network 2011-11-28

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Cold Weather Closes around Northern Provinces

The weather in the northern region is getting colder, which is having a positive affect on tourism.

The atmosphere in Loei Province in northern Thailand was extraordinary lively, as the weather in the province has started to get colder recently.

Throngs of tourists made their way to a number of famous destinations such as the Chiang Khan and Phu Ruea districts.

One merchant noted that most tourists enjoy visiting the Huay Krathing Reservoir in Muang District, as it is a renowned rest stop.

In Uthai Thani Province, the weather continues to get colder at mountainous areas in the Huay Kha Khaeng Sanctuary, especially in the Huay Kot and Ban Rai districts.

The temperatures there continue to drop.

At this time, a number of hill tribes are now facing cold injuries as there is a shortage of warm clothes.

-- Tan Network 2011-11-28

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Cleaning Operation Kicked off in the Wake of Flooding

Now that floodwaters have completely drained off from some districts, flood victims have begun repairing thier houses.

Boonthavorn Home Appliances store manager at the Saphan Kao branch, Charnchai Traiwanijsrisuk, said that as of now, some flood victims in Pinklao and Buddha Monthon districts have begun to buy products to repair their flooded houses.

However, the majority of residents have voiced concern that there will be another round of flooding.

Consequently, they have yet to make repairs to their houses and are monitoring the situation first.

Charnchai expects that the sales of home-repair products will peak during January and February.

He added that the best selling products include cement, tiles, cleaning products, brooms, and brushes.

Charnchai also insisted that the company would maintain its current prices despite the increase in transportation costs.

He added that most owners of flooded homes have ruined floors, and pointed out that the cost of repairing a 100 square meter house is around 50,000 baht.

Therefore, the government's compensation scheme, which provides each household 5,000 to 20,000 baht, will definitely not cover all of the costs.

Boonthavorn employee Siriluck Punthong, whose house remains submerged under 1 meter of water at Bang Bua Thong District said that the 20,000 baht compensation is still not sufficient.

Meanwhile, home builder Supasit Sirimongkolpasa said that labor costs are expected to increase around 30 percent in the wake of the flooding.

-- Tan Network 2011-11-28

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Living With The Tiger: film fights HIV stigma

Phuket Gazette

FIGHTING THE TIGER: A scene from the documentary in which

children of Baan Gerda act in an opera based on the book

‘The Life of Pi’. Photo: Pavlos Christoforou

HOPE: Bla, the main character, will attend the Dec 7 screening

in Phuket. Photo: Mike Thomas

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Metropolitan 1 police confident key suspect in Transport perm-sec's home robbery is in Laos & has stashed the bulk of money in Thailand /TANN

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Flood Situation Will Be Improved In December

The Flood Relief Operations Center stated that the flood situation will be improved within the first week of December. The floodwater will be drained out to the canals.

The FROC Working Group on Water Managment panelist, Anon Sanitwong Na Ayuttaya, said the floodwater was receding in many areas and officials are expediting their efforts to drain floodwater out to the sea.

By the first week of next month, it is predicted that most of the floodwater will flow back into the canal.

Anon cautioned residents living in low-lying areas that are slow of draining out water should not move back home.

However, residents living in areas that are completely free of floodwater can start cleaning up their homes.

In the meantime, the FROC has set up Provincial Flood Relief Operation Centers to discharge floodwater effectively.

Anon added that each community should have its own water drainage management system as well.

-- Tan Network 2011-11-28

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New Scourge for Flooded Thailand: Mosquitoes

By Wilawan Watcharasakwet and Patrick Barta

Mosquito - File photo - Source: wikipedia.org

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SET index midday up 12.89 pts,1.33 pct

Thai composite stocks index (SET) at midday Monday stood at 980.07, up 12.89 points, or 1.33 per cent amid light trade of Bt 8.18 billion in line with regional bourses.

Blue chip SET-50 index was at 686.17, up 10.57 points, or 1.56 per cent.

Top five active (value) stocks: CPF, SCB, PTT, PTTGC, ADVANC.

-- The Nation 2011-11-28

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AFP: Thai minister survives flood censure vote

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