Due to drought, Thai govt urges no Songkran water wars

[Gaybutton]

I doubt many Thais are going to comply, drought or not, government urging or not - unless by force.

Pattaya is not affected by the drought in other areas. There is plenty of water here. Only yesterday I was out near the reservoir and it's full to overflowing.
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No Songkran water wars, govt urges

THE SUNDAY NATION
February 28, 2016

PM wants cooperation from public amid fears about severe drought and low water levels in country's dams

The government wants the famed Songkran Festival this year toned down to "rod nam dam hua" - pouring a small amount of water on the hands of revered elders to ask for blessings - in the face of the country's drought problem.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is concerned about the drought and has asked for public cooperation in saving water, while waterworks authorities are controlling water supplies, Government Spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday.

He said the government would soon campaign more to save water by asking the public to offer water blessings during Songkran instead of engaging in "water wars".

Along with saving water, the premier wants to preserve the good tradition of the festival, he added.

Sansern reported that Prayut was scheduled to lead related ministers on a visit to the Northeast from March 16-18 to inspect drought-hit areas, possibly at Udon Thani and Nong Khai provinces.

The spokesman dismissed reports that the entire country was facing severe water shortages.

He said the Royal Irrigation Department reported there were 3 billion cubic metres of water in four major dams while there was enough water in dams for people's general use and for maintaining dams' bio-systems and for pushing out seawater along the Chao Phraya River basin area.

Sansern said most farmers knew there was insufficient water for agricultural purposes so those growing rice would be doing so at their own risk.

The spokesman admitted some areas had been hit by severe drought, with drought disaster zones declared in 46 districts of 12 provinces.

He said the Cabinet had approved drought-relief measures worth Bt93 billion via the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives to aid some 670,000 farmers.

He said the government would increase water supplies by launching royal rainmaking operations from March 1 in Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Kanchanaburi, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chanthaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Surat Thani provinces and by digging 2,000 wells in the Chao Phraya River basin area.

Hospital crisis

Meanwhile, Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Wichian Chantharanothai and his team yesterday visited the 30-bed Phra Thong Kham Hospital, which is suffering a serious water shortage. That is particularly the case for cleaning medical instruments and for patient use - both bathing and consumption.

Wichian said the installation of a Bt400,000 salt water filtering system at the hospital would be completed early next month and that should alleviate the problem.

The hospital receives 10,000 litres of water a week from two tambon administrations. It needs about 100 litres a day to wash medical equipment.

Wichian said that to find a long-term solution the provincial health office had approved Bt1.8 million to build a water-filter facility at the hospital.

In Nakhon Ratchasima's Bua Yai district, many farmers have seen their rice paddies wither.

Ten districts in the province, including Bua Yai, have been declared drought-disaster zones.

It was reported that some 57,000 households and 466,000 rai (74,000 hectares) of farmland in the districts have been affected.

Irrigation Office 8 director Chitchanok Somprasert said water levels in the northeastern province's five main dams were falling.

The Lam Takhong Dam is at 26 per cent of capacity, the Lam Phra Phloeng Dam is at 63 per cent of capacity, the Lam Chae reservoir 28 per cent, the Mun Bon reservoir at 27 per cent and the Lam Plai Mat Dam is at 50 per cent.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 80358.html

[Bangkokian]

Good luck with that.
About as much chance of that happening as a car stopping at a pedestrian crossing!

[Gaybutton]

About as much chance of that happening as a car stopping at a pedestrian crossing!

Several years ago Pattaya went through a severe drought. The water company ran completely dry. We were all buying water from delivery trucks - and your guess is as good as mine where they were getting their water from. And it was expensive. Also, there was no guarantee that the water trucks would continue to be able to find water sources.

Meanwhile Songkran occurred right in the middle of that drought. Does anyone think that stopped the Pattaya water wars? Not for a second. And most of you know the water splashing in Pattaya lasts the better part of a week, escalating each day until the "Big Day." The drought and scarcity of water didn't even slow it down.

So, I believe you're right. Unless the government forces people to stop the water splashing, and I have no idea how they could do that, especially in Pattaya where there is plenty of water. I'm expecting Pattaya's Songkran, and the rest of Thailand too, to be as usual.

[Jun]

In recent years, Thailand has seen flooding and drought.

A short visit to Thailand is sufficient to see there is a lot being spent on roads & railways, however what are they doing about the water supply ?
Some reservoirs and supply canals would seem like a good investment.

[christianpfc]

How much water is actually used for Songkran? It's very visible, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a big consumption.

Compare electricity used for electric lighting: I once read it's only 3% of a household's electric energy consumption, but when asked about saving energy, most people only think of switching off lights when they don't need them, because they are better visible than other, more important consumers.

[Alex]

Songkran will be an aggravating factor to what's already a pretty serious drought situation. There's no way to deal with it without making some - many - people "unhappy", so it's unlikely that the problem will be dealt with in a rational way.

[Gaybutton]

Notice that the proposed curfew applies only to Bangkok. There is no water shortage in Pattaya - at least not yet.
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Bangkok slaps curfew on world's biggest water fight amid drought

March 16, 2016

The Thai capital will impose a curfew during Thailand's annual water festival next month to show solidarity with farmers hit by drought, city officials said on Tuesday.

Thailand is facing its worst water shortage in two decades, with 14 out of 76 provinces hit and large swathes of agricultural land at risk.

Thailand has entered its annual dry season, which typically runs from March to May, meaning the drought is likely to get worse.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s solution? Be a wet blanket by cutting festival days down from four to three and imposing a curfew.

"This is partly symbolic, but we hope to save water too because our lakes have become deserts," said deputy Bangkok governor Amorn Kijchawengjul.

"We don’t want city folk splashing water around carelessly while farmers struggle."

The Songkran festival, which marks Thai New Year, is often referred to as the world’s biggest water fight - a time when revellers splashing water on each other and everyone, young and old, is fair game.

A major tourist attraction, Bangkok’s water parties typically run late into the night.

But this year all splashing will have to stop at 9 p.m. sharp.

"We’ll just shut down the party," said Amorn.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 81721.html

[a447]

What are the 3 days in Bangkok?

I'm coming up from Pattaya on the 15 in order to escape the mayhem there. Will there be any water throwing on the 15th?

[Gaybutton]

Will there be any water throwing on the 15th?

I believe the Songkran dates for Bangkok this year are the 13th, 14th, and 15th. Perhaps someone living in Bangkok can verify the dates. Of course, with the government stepping in with its effort to curtail the water splashing, it's hard to say whether there will be water splashing in Bangkok on the 15th, how much there might be, and where it might be. It probably depends on whether people comply with or brush aside the government's wishes.

I don't know how successful the government's efforts will be. Several years ago, Pattaya was suffering through an unrelenting drought. The reservoirs had run dry and the only water we were getting had to be trucked in. That didn't even slow down Pattaya's water splashing.

In Pattaya there will be water splashing on the 15th, but not very much and it's easily avoidable. On that date the water splashing will probably consist primarily of toddlers with squirt guns and a few people in pickup trucks, tossing water mostly at each other. Then, of course, there is the annual influx of drunken farang splashing people on Second road - usually starting near Central Festival, along Pattaya Beach Road, and the Hanuman statue area in Jomtien.

I believe on the 15th you'll find it easy to get from Pattaya to Bangkok without having to worry about getting splashed at all. Even so, it can't hurt to make sure anything that needs to be protected from water, gets protected from water.

If you're concerned about getting splashed, I suggest taking a "Taxi-Meter" from your hotel either all the way to Bangkok or to the bus station. That way, no matter what is going on, you don't get splashed.

[Maxxy]

Definitely 13th to the 15th in Bangkok and the chances of the govt stopping the water is about the same as me winning the lotto