Drought Crisis In North And NE Thailand

[Jai Dee]

KHUNYING SUDARAT IS URGING TO SEEK SOLUTIONS FOR DROUGHT CRISIS

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister KHUNYING SUDARAT KEYURAPHAN (สุดารัตน์ เกยุราพันธ์) is speedily seeking measures to tackle the drought crisis in the northern and northeastern regions of Thailand. However, she has notified that the crisis will not affect the country's image.

In regards to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation's warning about the possible drought crisis, KHUNYING SUDARAT said that she will call in concerned officials this afternoon, to help seek for solutions. She added that certain areas do not have adequate dams or reservoirs, and as a result, these areas have suffered water shortage. However, she has ordered concerned units to relief the situation.

At the meeting, she will acknowledge information and updates of the Royal Irrigation Department in order to set up further measures to handle the drought situation.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 25 January 2006

[Mobi]

KHUNYING SUDARAT IS URGING TO SEEK SOLUTIONS FOR DROUGHT CRISIS

. However, she has notified that the crisis will not affect the country's image.

Ye Gods ... just as long as "the crisis will not affect the country's image".....

Never mind there's no water; never mind the poor are struggling to survive; never mind that whatever water remains is being syphoned off the PM's manufacturing cronies; never mind that animals are dying.....

Just as long as the country's image is not affected, we can all sleep easy tonight; thank you so much Khunying Sudarat.

[penzman]

Do any of the planned mega-projects involve solving water distribution problems happening yearly?

No.

I was told that there is no money to be made with this, except for the local obotors who own water trucks.

[astral]

A yearly plea that for the last 20 years has fallen on deaf ears.

PS I thought Chiang Mai had floods recently?

Where did all the water go?

[Ned]

They reckon there's plenty of water in the reservoirs north of the city of CM......if you can believe anything you hear. Down here, forty kilometres south on the Ping the water level is already quite low and dropping. Last year's flooding was caused by a couple of heavy downpours only. Areas away from the river are heading for another dry hot season. So what's new?

[stoneman]

Looking for water saving ideas....Stop all those thousands of gallons of water that they throw on the passing vehicles during Songkran.. The streets in every town in Issan are covered in water for a week...

[Maestro]

Urgent Solutions Sought

Illegal logging!

How “urgently” can you make a tree, a forest, a hundred forests grow?

---------------

Maestro

[awarrumbungle]

It's as easy as planting trees lots and lots of trees

[mobile69]

Drought? The irrigation ditches around our land nr San Kamphaeng are FULL, & the farmers have all recently planted another rice crop. I guess that's why there's less water further south

[toptuan]

However, she has notified that the crisis will not affect the country's image.

...Asian face-saving at its most blatant.

(...we westerners have our hang-ups too...)

Edited January 26, 2006 by toptuan