Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha also said the government was considering additional aid for people who sacrificed their farmland to retain floodwater, on top of existing compensation for inundated farms, at up to 15 rai per case.
He said the government would soon arrange for farmers in water-retention areas to follow a “farming calendar” to ensure they grow crops in alternate turns with their downstream peers.
Prayut said farmers would be taught about water systems, crop growing, harvesting and use of technology, as well as rice marketing.
Meanwhile, the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) pledged to drain water into the Gulf of Thailand as soon as possible to spare Bangkok and surrounding areas from flooding.
RID deputy director-general Narong Leenanon said water was passing through the Bang Sai Sluice Gate in Ayutthaya at the controllable rate of 2,172 cubic metres per second, and it would be diverted into irrigation waterways on eastern and western sides of the capital into the sea.
With more rain forecast for Friday and Saturday, the RID had released large volumes of water via the Chao Phraya and Pasak Jolasid dams into sea.
Narong said “monkey cheek” water-retention areas in Thung Chao Phraya could greatly alleviate runoffs while residents in Thung Pamok, Thung Phak Hai and Thung Bang Ban had also stored water for the next crop-growing season. He said Pasak Jolasid Dam had received less runoff at 51 million cubic metres, and since it released 60 million cubic metres a day it should have enough capacity for incoming rainfall.
Narong said that calls to open the Thung Chao Chet sluice gate were not feasible as there were 100,000 downstream rai of unharvested rice paddies.
In Ayutthaya province, Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya Municipality workers yesterday built an earthen dyke in Tambon Tha Wasukri to protect the 200-home inner community area from flooding and planned to build another dyke near an Army vehicle-repairing factory if the river rose further.
Ang Thong province residents erected sandbag barriers as the Chao Phraya River continued to rise, while 725 homes in three districts were already inundated.
In Lop Buri’s Ban Mee district where 3,000 rai of almost-ripe rice fields were flooded, many farmers waded in to harvest their produce to try and recoup some of their capital. But they were reportedly pressed to sell the grain at between Bt3,000 and Bt4,000 per tonne.
In the Northeast, Khon Kaen’s Ubolrat Dam was at 80-per-cent capacity. While receiving more than 45 million cubic metres of water a day, it continued to release 14 million cubic metres daily.
Maha Sarakham province yesterday urged Khon Kaen to have |the dam lower its water release |rate temporarily because they wanted to minimise the impact of the deluge from Chaiyaphum, which would reach Maha Sarakham in two days.
In Kalasin, overflows from the Chi River inundated 2,243 rai of rice fields in Khong Chai, Rong Kham and Kamalasai districts.