Floods worsening because we have neglected canal system
Re: “Bangkok in danger of flooding unless old drainage improved, say academics”, Front page, yesterday.
Reading your front page yesterday on the threat of floods in Bangkok took me back to my childhood days.
Sixty years ago, I was a dek baan nok (country boy) in Chachoengsao, living among rice fields that were fed by an extensive network of canals built by our great kings Rama IV and V. The canals were impressive in size, and not easy for a young boy to swim across.
A few years ago, I went back to my home province and was very sad to find out that many of these canals are now so shallow and narrow that I can nearly jump from one side to the other.
We have lost 80 per cent or more of the capacity of these irrigation canals. If this once-efficient irrigation system had instead been maintained and expanded, we would never suffer from floods and drought.
Prasan Stianrapapongs
Pattaya, Chon Buri
