Royal Irrigation Department Director-General Lertviroj Kowattana claimed that all 123 flood prevention projects, initiated under the government’s emergency relief policy in fiscal 2012, are progressing well and will definitely be completed in 2 months’ time.
Mr. Lertviroj stated that all upstream projects are set to be finished by the end of this month, while those in the midstream areas will be ready in July and the remaining downstream measures will be functional by August.
Meanwhile, Privy Councilor Ampon Senanarong has pointed out the need of reforestation to prevent flood and drought, while applauding the government’s flood management efforts.
Mr. Ampon said, during a seminar on His Majesty the King’s royal initiatives on reforestation through environmental crisis earlier this year, that Thailand was facing a severe case of deforestation, leading to a loss of environmental equilibrium.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej has long realized the problem of deforestation and taken interest in replanting the country’s forest in order to prevent future inundation and drought.
The Privy Councilor commended that the government is on the right path in its attempt to cope with the flood crisis. He said that the implementation of the single command center strategy, with the Prime Minister at the lead, will lead to an efficient flood management.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, herself, also expressed confidence in the state-initiated measures related to water resources management and flood prevention.
Thailand has also received assistance from Sweden as the Swedish Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Klas Molin, expressed his belief that the Swedish expertise and technology would help uplift the Thai disaster prevention system.
As for the industrial sector, the National Economic and Social Development Board Secretary-General Arkom Termpitayapaisit disclosed that factories situated within industrial estates have begun manufacturing, and more than half of those outside industrial estates have also undergone full recovery from last year’s flood crisis.
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Dredging Today Staff, June 27, 2012