Agencies well-prepared for public support during Thailand's dry season

BANGKOK, April 26 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, through its relevant agencies, has been well-prepared for rending official assistance to people in drought-hit areas nationwide. Suwat Piampatjai, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Water Resource, told journalists on Friday that his department has worked together in an integrated aspect with the Department of Groundwater Resources, to closely monitor updates of the drought situation across Thailand to timely provide assistance to people in all affected areas. Suwat stated that his department and the Department of Groundwater Resources have jointly prepared 311 water pumps and 63 water trucks for supplying water to all drought-affected areas nationwide, especially a total area of 119 million rai (2.5 rai = 1 acre) outside irrigation zones. Besides, his department and the Department of Groundwater Resources have already provided more than 4.25 million liters of clean water and more than 417,500 liters of fresh drinking water to more than 84,900 rai of affected local farm areas and more than 333,600 households, along with having stocked about 5,000 million cubic meters of water for those outside the irrigation zones to be sufficient for their consumption until the end of the ongoing dry season, expected by the end of next month. The senior official acknowledged that since October 2018, his department and the Department of Groundwater Resources have pumped about 27 million cubic meters of water for local water sources, which have been sufficient for public consumption in seriously-drought-hit areas so far. In the long term, the senior official said, his department and the Department of Groundwater Resources have also prepared water management measures, aimed to cope with the situation nationwide during the annual dry season more efficiently. Meanwhile, Kusol Chotirat, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Groundwater Resources, told reporters that he expected his department should complete its digging work for all 1,900 wells in all targeted areas by the end of this month, as about 80 per cent of the work has already been finalized. (TNA)