Wells dug to provide Surin Hospital with essential water supply
Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan confirmed on Tuesday that Surin Hospital’s reported critical water shortage situation as a result of the prevailing drought had been resolved for the time being following the digging of eight wells by the Army Development Corps. Prawit was speaking ahead of today’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday and a source at Government House said that Prawit would brief the Cabinet meeting on the hospital’s water problems and solutions.
Meanwhile Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also confirmed that Surin Hospital's situation had been resolved and it now has sufficient water for use. Anutin however noted that this northeastern province is still facing water shortage issues and the authorities were responding by identifying other water sources and dispatching water tanks to assist affected residents. Private sector concerns with facilities to retain water were also helping provide water to local residents. Anutin was optimistic about the situation, saying that the region was now seeing some rain.
Anutin also confirmed that Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha would visit Surin on Monday (August 19) to gather first-hand information on the ongoing drought and inspect Huai Saneng in tambon Cha Niang of Muang Surin, the key water source that supplies raw water for the tap system for Surin and the neighbouring province of Buri Ram but which has dried up. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had already dispatched water pumps to help tackle the problem at Huai Saneng, Anutin said.
The drought situation in Surin, which has affected residents for weeks prompting some to buy water for consumption and use, worsened last week and hit Surin Hospital, which was unable to meet its daily demand for 800,000-1,000,000 litres after its source ran out. Various agencies were only able to supply a combined amount of 80,000 litres or 10 per cent of the needed amount. The Army and the Surin Rural Highway Office sent in water tanks over the weekend to give additional aid while people also donated drinking water to the hospital. Over the weekend, soldiers and Surin Waterworks officials installed a 12-km long pipe to pump water from three old mines within the territory of Phanom Sawai Forest Park in Muang Surin to fill Huai Saneng. Surin Waterworks Office manager Maitree Khetta said that the three old mines contained a combined three million cubic metres of water so if they could pump all of it to feed Huai Saneng, it should produce sufficient tap water for another three months.