Severe drought hits Thailand

BANGKOK, November 4 (TNA) - Northeastern Thailand is now under a severe drought, considered the worst in five decades, as several provinces have been declared disaster zones. Rice farmers in Sakon Nakhon province said they would not take part in the government-sponsored rice pledging scheme this year due to unfavourable yields. Their outcry had been made after drought caused severe damage to more than 300,000 rai of paddy fields. Officials in nearby Nakhon Phanom province meanwhile, said they had declared Na Wa district a disaster zone. Drought was also reported in northern Thailand, including in Pichit province, where Pomelo farms had become parched by the weather. Officials in the lower northern province of Phitsanulok said they had started releasing dam water to help alleviate the local hardship. (TNA)