Housing estates, road drying in Nonthaburi

Governor Wichien Puttiwinyu yesterday insisted that his provin?cial administration was responding to the demands made recently by local people. 

“The situation should return to normal at several key spots by December 1,” he said. 

He was speaking as many Nonthaburi residents started major clean-up operations in areas where water had already been drained. 

Most residents have already returned to many housing estates, such as Somchai Pattana, after flood water levels began to decrease. They had been forced to live elsewhere for more than one month. 

Asked about a people’s petition to the Administrative Court demanding that officials stop forming flood barriers along Highway 340 and draining water out near the route to the detriment of locals, Wichien said actions were taken for the benefit of the majority.

“But we are also trying to minimise impacts on the minority,” he said. 

He pointed out the drying of Highway 340 would allow more convenient delivery of assistance to flood-hit areas and of pumps.

In a related development, Rangsit City deputy mayor Decha Klinkusum said his administrative body would hold meetings with people from local communities today and tomorrow to plan the salvaging of their hometowns. 

“We will try to drain all flood water out before December 5,” he said. 

Decha said people from different communities sometimes had different opinions on what needed to be done. 

To prevent rifts among them, his municipality would hold separate meetings for representa?tives from different communities. 

These communities are in Pathum Thani’s Thanyaburi district. 

Nearly 100 local people removed “big bags” on the safety island on the Pak Kret-bound lane of a section of Tiwanon Road in Pathum Thani’s Muang district. 

The big bags were placed there to keep one lane open for Pak Kret-bound traffic. 

“Because the big bags were removed, the road has become impassable to small vehicles again,” a highways official said. 

In Bangkok, several main roads were also too flooded for vehicles. Impassable now are: a section of Suwinthawong Road from Ras-uthit Road to Min Buri Business Administration College Intersection; Phaholyothin Road from Bang Khen roundabout; the outbound lanes of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road from Lak Si Intersection to National Memorial; and the Nawamin Road from Ram-Indra KM 8 Intersection to Soi Nawamin 157. Meanwhile, inundation in Songkhla has also eased. 

The number of flooded villages dropped from 276 to just 260 yesterday. The floods have spread across eight districts of Songkhla that have been declared disaster zones. 

They are Khuan Niang, Singha-nakhon, Saba Yoi, Rattaphum, Chana, Ranot, Sathing Phra and Muang Songkhla districts.