Cabinet discusses broken water gate

Presiding over a meeting to discuss the flooding situation and possible solutions with Cabinet members visiting affected provinces, Yingluck listened to a discussion about severe flooding in Lop Buri, which has been blamed on the broken gate.
Earlier yesterday, Deputy Interior Minister Chuchart Hansawas presided over an urgent meeting at Sara Buri’s City Hall with Sara Buri Governor Thavorn Phrommechai and other officials. He said the broken Bang Chom Sri Water Gate would take more than 15 days to repair, and suggested dumping large stones near the gate to lessen the current’s strength.
Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said that, with the water gate still a problem, the flood situation in Lop Buri was worsening, with 100,000 rai of farmland now submerged, 100,000 residents evacuated and water continuing to pour in.
Pheu Thai MP Suchat Lainam-ngern said Lop Buri had never experienced flooding this bad and that, if the Bang Chom Sri Water Gate couldn’t be closed, officials shouldn’t wait for the 15 days thought needed to fix the gate, and that Royal Thai Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha should send in troops to fix it in three days.
Yingluck said she would visit the location today. Chuchart said he had urged that heavy machinery be brought in for the repair job, but that the Royal Irrigation Department had dragged its feet on the issue, which he said must be solved in no more than a week. Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa urged that any steps taken to tackle the flooding must ensure that damages are equally shared among the affected provinces.
After listening to a report from Phetchabun, where 192,035 residents of all 11 districts have been affected and 107 million rai of farmland ruined, Yingluck gave the green light for the province to submit a proposal to build two “monkey cheek” water-retention areas at a cost of Bt860 million and to seek more emergency funds. She also urged the province to submit the results of surveys of 18 additional “monkey cheek” areas to the 24/7 Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) for Floods, Storms and Landslides. Yingluck also instructed the interior minister to give full authority to acting governor Jirayuth Wajanarat to perform the duties of provincial governor.
It was also reported at the meeting that 300 factories in 18 flood-hit provinces have suffered a total of Bt700 million in damages.
In related news, Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who visited and distributed relief bags to residents of Bangkok Noi district communities outside the area protected by a flood barrier there yesterday, admitted that the situation was worrisome. However, he was still confident the 2.5-meter-high barrier would stand firm, as the highest water level recorded there was 1.98 meters.
He instructed all districts to monitor the water situation around the clock and to alert at-risk residents to evacuate if the Chao Phraya River rose to 2.4 meters. He also urged authorities to instruct public transport boats to lower their speed while passing communities outside flood barriers. During his visit to inspect Don Muang district later, Sukhumbhand commented on a planned 17-km-long, 5.6-metre-wide tunnel system to drain floodwaters, saying the project would start in 2013 and be complete in 2016.