Thai DPM:Government can handle water situation

BANGKOK, September 27 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit confirmed on Thursday that the government can handle the water situation, particularly in Bangkok, foreseeing that, unlike late last year's situation, there should be no persistent floods in the capital late this year. In response to recent weather forecast reports on steadily-heavy scattered downpours in Bangkok and several other provinces until early next month, Yongyuth said that people should not panic, but closely following up the updated situation and official reports issued by the government-appointed Strategic Committee for Water Resource Management (SCWRM) instead. Yongyuth noted that the government has set up frontal centres in several flood-prone areas to gather updated information concerning the water-related situation, and that all concerned agencies, including the SCWRM and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, have insisted that they can handle the water situation this year. Regarding to the dredging of canals and water release in Bangkok, the deputy premier acknowledged that relevant government agencies, including those under the Ministries of Interior, Transport and Agriculture and Cooperatives, have worked with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to install pumps and to speed up draining out excess water in several areas. Meanwhile, Director of the Office of the National Water and Flood Management Policy Pipat Rueng-ngam told journalists that there should be continual heavy rainfalls in several areas until October 20 influenced by a monsoon trough, warning that heavy downpours are likely to hit Thailand's central, eastern, western and southern regions over the next seven days, with heavy falls, strong winds and high waves of up to some two metres particularly foreseen in the southern Thai region. (TNA)