Flood relief ordered

BANGKOK, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to quickly solve frequent flooding in Bangkok by getting rid of the garbage that blocked drainage ways and raising public awareness on proper garbage disposal. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the prime minister issued the order as considerable garbage was blocking drainage systems of the capital. Relevant officials were urged to also encourage communities to reduce the amount of their garbage to help solve the flooding problem. Lt Gen Sansern also said that the prime minister would inspect flood response operations of the BMA at the Phra Khanong pump station and on La Salle and Bearing roads on Monday. There he will listen to water management plans and community participation in the management and will lay down his policies for the BMA. People in Bangkok Friday suffered another round of severe street flooding in addition to the same situation on the previous day. A major cause of the flooding on both days was the increasing amount of garbage that reached and blocked the Rama IX flood drainage tunnel. The amount of rubbish soared from 4 tons to 10-15 tons a day and the garbage included big logs, planks, mattresses and sofas which greatly slowed down the drainage capacity of the tunnel. City Hall workers were deployed to get rid of the garbage around the clock. (TNA)