Road alongside Raphipat Canal deemed unsafe
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MOTORISTS have been advised to avoid the road alongside Raphipat Canal in Pathum Thani province, as its surface is cracking as the canal's water level is running very low due to drought . Officials in charge of rural roads inspected the thoroughfare ye
“For safety reasons, motorists should avoid the road even though it appears passable in some parts,” an official said.
Farmers in the province have continued pumping water from local canals in a desperate bid to save their crops. However, with water levels in the canals dropping further, roads nearby have started developing cracks, some of which are over 2.2 metres deep.
Apart from posing a threat to roads and motorists, the declining water levels are also affecting fish in the canals.
After monks from Beung Ba Temple in Pathum Thani’s Nong Sua district asked for help, volunteers, students and local residents jumped into the canal outside the temple to rescue the fish and relocate them to wells nearby. It is estimated that there are more than 20 tonnes of fish in the temple’s area.
Thai Buddhists refrain from catching fish in the temple zone as it is considered sinful. The fish will stay in wells and be put back in the canal once it fills up.
Meanwhile, cracks were also found on roads in Saraburi province, which is also suffering from a severe drought.
In Phitsanulok province, a local kamnan lamented yesterday that the government had asked farmers to postpone growing rice due to drought, but fell short of providing assistance.
“They are rice farmers. If they can’t grow rice, what can they do?” Somyong Joythong asked. He is the kamnan of Tambon Wang I Tok in Bang Rakam district.
He also slammed the Royal Irrigation Department for failing to manage water resources better. “Just months ago, there were floods, and all it did was drain the water into the sea. Why didn’t they store the water for the times when there is no rain?” he asked.
