Agriculture Ministry confident in sufficient water supply for consumption until rainy season

BANGKOK, 21 March 2013 (NNT) – The Agriculture Ministry has come out to assure that there will be sufficient supply of water for consumption in drought-hit areas until the rainy season arrives.

Agriculture Minister Yukol Lim-laemthong said on Wednesday that the water management in all irrigation areas has been going on as planned while it is expected that there will be sufficient water for household consumption until the beginning of the rainy season.

However, Mr. Yukol conceded that, outside the irrigation areas, people may be in trouble, especially those in the Northeast, where all farming activities have been completely banned due to low water supply behind dams.

Still, the Agriculture Minister is hopeful that people in drought-hit areas will not suffer any water shortage for consumption, particularly when the Royal Rainmaking Project has been initiated in the northeastern region to fill more water behind reservoirs and dams.

He added that the artificial rainmaking operation will be in full scale after the harvest of off-season crops is completed, tentatively from April 1 onwards.

Director-General of the Department of Agricultural Extension Panpimon Chunyanuwat commented that Chiang Rai and Uttaradit are the only two provinces, where farmers have been seriously affected by drought.

Mrs. Panpimon stated that the department has proposed to assist drought-hit farmers in finding alternative careers, while the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM) is also working on a plan to introduce new professions for affected farmers, under the budget of 37 million baht.


-- NNT 2013-03-21

There are water tanks distributed all over our town for a month already.

This article is contradictory tripe. However, the last sentence is the most telling of all.

...will be sufficient supply of water for consumption in drought-hit areas until the rainy season arrives.

...people may be in trouble, especially those in the Northeast, where all farming activities have been completely banned due to low water supply behind dams.

...hopeful that people in drought-hit areas will not suffer any water shortage for consumption...

...Chiang Rai and Uttaradit are the only two provinces, where farmers have been seriously affected by drought.

...a plan to introduce new professions for affected farmers, under the budget of 37 million baht.

I am so happy for Agriculture Minister Yukol Lim-laemthong that I will invite him to come and stay with me until the rainy season starts.

Sadly the government water supply stopped running to the tambon a couple of weeks ago so he won't be able to shower every day and will only be allowed to flush the toilet when he takes a dump.

However as a resourceful man I am SURE he will cope somehow.

We live in Changwat Khampaeng Phet next to the Mae Wong national park which is where the water comes from when it rains.

From October to December we had 132 mm of rain and so far this year we have had 32.8 mm.

I would go and lie in my fishpond which has a capacity of about 500,000 litres but it is bone dry.