ACROSS the country, many farmers live free from worries about water shortages due to His Majesty’s many irrigation projects. These projects remain as evidence of his hard work for Thailand even after his passing.
On the day of his coronation, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej announced: “I will rule the country with Dharma for the sake of all citizens’ happiness.” He stood by those words during his reign by devoting himself to tackling people’s problems, especially the chronic issues of flood and drought.
Since His Majesty was crowned King 70 years ago, as many as 473 irrigation projects have been put in place nationwide. Suthep Noipairoj, former director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), said His Majesty’s main mission was to ensure that people lived happily without fear of water problems that could destroy their crops and property.
“His Majesty was very talented in irrigation. He was devoted to monitoring people’s problems and trying to find solutions and prevention measures. This was despite the fact that he was suffering from poor health,” Suthep recalled.
“There is solid evidence that the royal irrigation projects have offered tremendous benefits. I can say that if we did not have the foundation that he laid in irrigation, serious problems like the 2011 flooding and 2015 drought would be far more destructive and more people would have suffered,” he said.
For instance, he said, one of the King’s masterpieces in water management was the Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lop Buri, which has been helping irrigate the Chao Phraya River Basin.
He said that during the 2011 flood and 2015 drought, the dam played a key role in relieving the severity of the situation, preventing serious destruction.
“The dam slows down the flow of the Pasak River and stores water to prevent flooding downstream and provide water for agriculture and domestic consumption in areas downriver from Lop Buri such as the provinces of Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Bangkok,” the former RID director-general said.
Pasak Jolasid Dam was initiated in 1989 to address the regular flood and drought problems in Pasak River, one of the main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. The dam, which was built between in 1994 and 1999, was opened by His Majesty himself.
Suthep also cited Phitsanulok province, which benefited from His Majesty’s work.
“This province was only hit slightly during the 2011 flooding and farmers in the province were able to grow crops during the dry season every year with the exception of 2015, when they were instructed by the government not to grow dry-season crops. This was all thanks to the King’s project at the Khwae Noi Bamrung Dan,” he said.
His Majesty explained the necessity to build this dam in Phitsanulok in 1995 in order to address the flooding and drought problems in the province and better manage water in the Chao Phraya River Basin. This dam was completed in 2011 and is now one of the four main dams to regulate water throughout the basin.
Royon Jitdon, director of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, said the key reason for the success of His Majesty’s initiatives were his progressive views on water management and preparedness.
“As we can see, His Majesty always had a map and information about the area in his hands when he was in the field. He had in-depth information and was able to make comprehensive plans for water management, leading from the headwaters in the mountains down to the delta,” Royon said.
He said His Majesty had very progressive ideas about water management and he based all his initiatives on available hydro-information. This method is now being used by the World Bank, which has ordered every country seeking funding to gather information in the affected area first.
He said another reason that made these initiatives successful was that the King understood people’s problems and their needs. This is why His Majesty’s initiatives were very beneficial.
“The King once told me that in order to work on water management, we needed to be up-to-date with the changing situation and always be prepared for the future. I think this is an important thing that everybody who works in this field should keep in mind and follow in his footsteps to work for the people,” he said.
King Bhumibol was known for his interest in irrigation, a pursuit that began when he was still young. According to the book “Jao Nai Leklek, Yuwakasat” (Small King) written by His Majesty’s older sister, HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, the King used to dig canals in the garden and build dams as part of his games as a child.
Owing to that interest, he chose to study science and engineering at the University of Lausanne, but had to switch to politics and law after taking the throne in 1946.
Yet his interest in water-management never waned, and ended up benefiting his citizens during his reign.