Several Thai areas face drought, water shortages

THAILAND, March 6 (TNA) - Several areas in Thailand are facing drought and shortages of water for both local consumption and farming. In Loei Province in the Thai Northeast, a project on a survey and the development of groundwater sources, funded by a budget of 24 million baht, has, thus, been launched to supply clean water for local communities, aimed to address the ongoing problem of water shortages in four districts. In Nong Khai Province, also in the Thai Northeast, water levels in local main rivers have been rapidly declining, prompting people in Muang and Pon Pisai Districts to have used water pumps to draw water into over 10,000-rai farmlands (2.5 rais=1 acre). In Chiang Mai Province in the Thai North, eight districts have already been declared drought-hit disaster zones. In Phichit Project in the Lower Thai North, the water level in its main Yom River has kept falling, with sand dunes to be visible in many spots. In Phatthalung Province in the Thai South, authorities have warned local farmers not to grow out-of-season rice in six districts located outside the provincial irrigation system, after there have been no rainfalls in the province for three months, resulting in water in many canals to be drying up, while many reservoirs have, therefore, slowed down releasing water and additional water reserves have been urgently surveyed to assist farmers and local households. (TNA)