There is no risk of Thailand suffering severe water shortage in 40 days as widely feared, Royal Irrigation Department (RID) chief Thongplew Kongchan affirmed, despite the low levels of usable water at the Chao Phraya River basin's four major dams.

THE Royal Irrigation Department has said that it would activate many irrigation projects this year amid warnings from experts that large-scale irrigation projects often result in conflict while urging the government to invest in small-scale local reservoirs instead.