Farmers continue pumping water despite warnings

BANGKOK, Nov 17 (TNA) -- Despite requests by senior officers, including Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha that farmers should avoid growing rice during off-season because of possible water shortage in Thailand, farmers do not heed the request and continue to pump water to feed rice saplings. Expressing his concerns, Suthep Noipairoj, director-general of Royal Irrigation Department, said farmers along the Chao Phraya River basin are still growing rice covering about 500,000 rai and it is expected that more farmers would do the same because rain still falls in certain areas. Mr Suthep said rain is expected to stop soon while water supplied by his department is meant for human consumption and is insufficient for farming. Touching on pumping water from canals or rivers in provinces above the Chao Phraya Dam in which more than one million cubic metres of water from these water sources disappears daily, Mr Suthep said he had asked for cooperation from provincial governors to help supervise and make sure that farmers do not pump water for agricultural purposes. Thailand is expected to be hit by severe drought in summer next year due to shortage of rainwater during the just ended rainy season. (TNA)