Remove Sandbags In 15 Days, Bangkok Governor Told

[pepi2005]

What a mess!

And the Thai people have to pay the price for it!!!

Good to know that at least the Thai Govt. 'protects' the Thai people and integrity of the country from the bad foreigners...

[Baerboxer]

If you have a truck with square wheels, you could probably bumble on slowly down the road a short distance. At some point though, you'd be smart to change to round wheels - the sooner the better.

Another move might be to put on triangular wheels, this would give you one bump less per rotation.

or oval could be interesting!

[Mrjlh]

Doesn't anyone remember it was the "Government" (Phua Thai) that told the "BMA" to sandbag the canals and even streets? Even brought in the Army to help. There were sandbags every where....even where they shouldn't have been. I watched an army of people sandbagging streets near Dong Muang covering drains, filling drains, blocking doors, sidewalks, and any place that didn't need it. Problem was there was no supervision that knew what they were doing. They were told to block the drains and that's what they did! Now the Government are acting as if it was someone else's fault for what happen. Typical blame game and no one can stop the silliness it is. Unfortunately for Thailand they have a very inept government. There are those that on occasion make sense but those occasions are far between.

[indyuk]

I suppose an approriate repsonse from the BMA to Plopadop would be..ok you say this doest work...you remove them then and we take no responsiblity... up to you

I believe that you are overlooking the fact that Funding was provided to the Governor of BKK to clear all drains and canals before the flood risk months. By July 2012 all drain and canal work ceased though just two thirds of the money was spent. Were the Governors men deliberately spiking the flood prevention project to make a political point? What happened to the rest of the money provided for the work? Will we now see a precedent set which will allow Governments to instruct Governors to do as the are told, so far not customary in Thailand.

[rubl]

I suppose an approriate repsonse from the BMA to Plopadop would be..ok you say this doest work...you remove them then and we take no responsiblity... up to you

I believe that you are overlooking the fact that Funding was provided to the Governor of BKK to clear all drains and canals before the flood risk months. By July 2012 all drain and canal work ceased though just two thirds of the money was spent. Were the Governors men deliberately spiking the flood prevention project to make a political point? What happened to the rest of the money provided for the work? Will we now see a precedent set which will allow Governments to instruct Governors to do as the are told, so far not customary in Thailand.

Puzzling, really. The PM seems to have indicated differently while on her 'canal dredging inspection tour'.

2012-08-17

"She elaborated that the government has assigned the army to be in charge of canal-dredging and landscape improvement works, and the latter has completed the task mentioned on 277 canals as scheduled. The project is aimed at increasing the efficiency of water use and storage."

http://www.thaivisa....25#entry5580702

2012-08-18

"Ms Yingluck said the government has requested cooperation from communities and the private sector to help take care of the canals, with one company per canal.

Under the pilot project, 277 companies have taken part in caring for 307 canals, she said."

http://www.thaivisa....ater-situation/

[atsiii]

"Pheu Thai claims the sandbags are the main reason why canals are unable to drain rainwater fast enough. However, Sukhumbhand and city officials say the sandbags stop water flowing back from canals and flooding roads. They say the BMA has been using this flood-prevention technique for years."

From an engineering standpoint, both statements would obviously be true. That's why real engineers specify adjustable (manually or otherwise) sluice gates and other similar hydraulic devices for these types of applications.

[Narratio]

@atsii

Full agreement. If this was really required then install adjustable sluice gates at these locations instead of sandbags. Even in Thailand, with excavation costs, equipment installation and lots of tea money, they couldn't cost more than $30k for each sluice gate.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Narratio

[Thai at Heart]

@atsii

Full agreement. If this was really required then install adjustable sluice gates at these locations instead of sandbags. Even in Thailand, with excavation costs, equipment installation and lots of tea money, they couldn't cost more than $30k for each sluice gate.

Yeah, but what about somchai the sandbag mans yearly deal?