Cabinet considers Water Management Panel's urgent plan for flood prevention

BANGKOK, Dec 27 -- The cabinet will today consider the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management's urgent plan for flood prevention covering six issues in its regular Tuesday meeting.

Yesterdays water committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra approved the flood prevention plan focused on six main issues: a permanent organisation to deal with water management overall; rebuilding and repairing all water gates and dredging all canals; to effectively manage water stored in dams; measures to help agriculturists with land in water retention areas; drawing up flood response and flood water drainage plans to expel water into the sea.

Wichean Chawalit, secretary of the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management, said most of the proposals the cabinet will consider today are short term or urgent measures to fight floods that could happen in the next rainy season.

Long term plans would only be forwarded to the cabinet for approval in principle before going into detail in areas such as forest restoration, building new dams and allocating floodway paths.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na Ranong said that the cabinet will consider both short and long term water management to prevent flooding.

The short term measures should be completed within one year. Some projects must be in place within 4-5 months as preparation for next rainy season next year, he said, adding that the long term preparations will cover measures to completely prevent flood in Chao Phraya River Basin.

As for the floodway, Mr Kittirat said the meeting of the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management on Monday has not concluded that it would be a big canal or water passage areas as more study is needed.

However, floodways would be on both the west and eastern sides of the Chao Phraya River and would be designed to also help prevent flood in other provinces as well, not only Bangkok. (MCOT online news)