Government to dig for more small ponds to fight drought

BANGKOK, Nov 21 (TNA) -- Anxieties over severe drought during the upcoming summer, the government of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha has set aside 356 million baht during the current fiscal 2016 to dig for an additional 20,000 ponds for farmers throughout Thailand, said a government spokesman. The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has been assigned to be responsible for the project which calls for digging small ponds to store water outside irrigation areas to enable agriculturists to have sufficient water for their own consumption and for farming, the spokesman said. He said the government has already dug 56,206 ponds since October last year until this September and they could altogether store water amounting 1.26 billion cubic metres. The stored water could be used for raising fishes and growing vegetables around the ponds for own consumption. Digging for ponds for agriculturists came after Gen Prayut was concerned over the livelihood of people living outside irrigation areas and this kind of government assistance would be conducted on a regular basis to resolve water shortage in long-term, the spokesman said. The government has urged people repeatedly to consume water at a reasonable amount, not to throw waste into waterways and for agriculturists to grow fruits and vegetables which consume small amount of water to help conserve water. Thailand was hit by a severe drought during the rainy season which ended a few months ago. (TNA)