Minister:Water situation in Thailand is not worrying

BANGKOK, September 27 (TNA) - Thai Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya says that people should not be worried over the water situation despite heavy downpours lately, as major dams in the country still have their capacities to store a large amount more of water. General Chatchai told journalists of the information on Tuesday prior to the Thai Cabinet's weekly meeting, ensuring that the water situation currently is not as worrying as that in late 2011 when Thailand faced a massive flooding crisis. General Chatchai stressed that it now appears unnecessary to use rice fields as water retention areas, as they are anticipated to embrace much more downpours in the near future. According to the Thai minister, the best solution now is speedily diverting water into the sea. "The Chao Phraya Dam currently holds 1.7 billion cubic meters of water, much less than the three billion cubic meters of water it carried in 2011 that led to the massive flooding in the country", the minister pointed out. The minister acknowledged, however, that initial surveys found that about 20,000-24,000 acres of local farmlands have been damaged by recent floods and the Thai government has prepared appropriate assistance for affected households. (TNA)