ID :
231401
Tue, 03/06/2012 - 10:05
Auther :

Haze relieves in some northern Thai areas

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) - Haze is relieving in some northern Thai areas, although smoke is arriving from forest fires in neighbouring Myanmar and Thailand's 3rd Army Area Command has asked Myanmar, through its military attaché, to help solve the problem. The smog problem is easing in Chiang Rai province, where fire engines have been used to spray water to clean dust particulates and views in Mae Sai district and Tachilek town of Myanmar, opposite the common border, have become visible. Thick haze has, however, increasingly blanketed the heart of Chiang Mai province, with visibility on Chotana road in Mae Rim district, for instance, dropping to 300-500 meters, prompting local motorists to turn on their headlamps. Western winds are also blowing forest fire smoke from Myanmar to Chiang Mai, where local people are to wear facemasks now. In Mae Hong Son Province, Governor Naruemon Palawat has launched a convoy of water trucks at Mae Hong Son Airport to spray water in a bid to reduce haze, as visibility at the regional airport has decreased to one kilometer and haze particles have been latest measured at 130 micrograms per cubic meter of air. In another development, the Tak governor has declared all eight districts in the northwestern Thai province drought-stricken zones, as water at the Moei river in Mae Sot district has been subsiding and obstructing cargo boats plying between Thai and Myanmar banks. Meanwhile, Thai Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha acknowledged that most local people had not cooperated but continued to set fires to prepare their plantations for cultivation in the upcoming rainy season. The army-commander-in-chief urged all concerned agencies to, therefore, try to convince people and arrest those who set fires in forests. Besides, the 3rd Army Area Command has asked Myanmar through its military attaché to contain forest fires in the neighbouring country, as cross-border smoke is now affecting public health, as well as domestic tourism and aviation flights. (TNA)

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