Folding metal ramparts put up around ancient temple in Ayutthaya for protection from flooding
An adjustable metal flood levee was installed on Thursday around the ancient Wat Chaiwatthanaram in Ayutthaya to protect it from an overflowing Chao Phraya River.
More than 100 soldiers and officials from the Fine Arts Department put up the 2-metre-high metal planks that can be raised or laid flat. The planks cover a distance of 165 metres around the temple, which sits on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.
Sandbags were also laid in front of the levee to slow down water flow and a wall of scaffolding will also be put up behind the level to strengthen it.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said the river’s level was rising because water is being released by the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat province at a high rate to ease flooding in the North.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram is a major tourist attraction in the old city of Ayutthaya and though its compound is part of the Ayutthaya Historical Park, it is not included in the areas marked out as Unesco World Heritage Site.
