Confrontation at Khlong Hok Wa

There was violence during a confrontation between residents on opposite sides of a flood-wall yesterday, one side wanting the wall opened, the other side insisting on keeping it closed.

Pathum residents dismantle part of a flood wall at Khlong Hok Wa in Pathum Thani, causing floodwater to surge into Bangkok’s Sai Mai district yesterday.

Six injured in explosion at flood wall

Six people have been injured by an explosive device thrown into a large crowd who were trying a fix a breach in a sandbag flood barrier in Bangkok's Sai Mai district last night.

The blast followed a dispute over the sandbag flood barrier at the lower line of Khlong Hok Wa in the district.

Police found debris of what appeared to be a brick attached to gunpowder. The package was thrown onto the bridge across the canal where around 100 residents were trying to close a 70m-wide gap in the barrier.

Police said the incident was aimed at stirring up a confrontation between residents on both sides of the flood barrier.

Crowd-control police from the Metropolitan Police Division 2 were deployed to beef up security.

The 70m-wide gap was created in the morning when about 300 Pathum Thani residents dismantled a stretch of the sandbag flood barrier at the lower line of Khlong Hok Wa.

The breach caused more floodwater to surge into Sai Mai district.

Ratchapol Boonrod, deputy district chief of Sai Mai, said residents from tambon Lat Sawai of Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district removed sandbags from the flood barrier.

The level of floodwater in Sai Mai district then rose rapidly from the previous 20cm to between 30cm and 40cm.

The Khlong Hok Wa flood barrier is one of the two major barriers that block floodwater in Pathum Thani from surging into the northern part of Bangkok. The other barrier is in tambon Lak Hok of Pathum Thani, which connects to Bangkok's Don Muang district.

The residents demanded that the entire length of the Khlong Hok Wa flood wall be made to serve as a weir, that the sluice gate at Khlong Phraya Suren be raised higher to 1m, and that they be paid more flood compensation.

Sanya Cheenimitr, director of City Hall's Drainage and Sewerage department, arrived at the scene and negotiated with the angry residents.

After hours of talks, Mr Sanya bowed to their demands and ordered the Khlong Phraya Suren sluice gate to be lifted to 1m, prompting fierce protests by downstream Sai Mai district residents.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra yesterday said the damaged sandbag barrier and the widening of Phraya Suren sluice gate would cause about 4 million cu/m per day of floodwater to flow into Bangkok.

The affected areas include Sai Mai, Ram Intra and Bangchan Industrial Estate in Min Buri district, he said.

Anond Snidvongs, an academic for the Flood Relief Operation Command (Froc), said yesterday the raising of the Khlong Phraya Suren sluice gate as demanded by the Lam Luk Ka protesters would not help lower the flood levels in Pathum Thani. Instead, it would cause more floodwater to flow into Khlong Bang Chan in Min Buri district.

Bang Kapi, Wang Thong Lang districts and areas of Min Buri near the Suan Siam amusement park would be affected, Mr Anond said.

residents – people who live in a particular area ประชาชนที่อาศัยในท้องที่

dismantle – to take something apart รื้อ

surge – to increase very quickly เพิ่มขึ้นอย่างรวดเร็ว

barrier – a wall, pile of sandbags, etc., that prevents water from entering สิ่งกีดขวาง

row – a serious disagreement about an issue between people, organizations or countries การทะเลาะวิวาท

erupt – to start suddenly ปะทุขึ้น

violence – physical force with the deliberate intention of causing damage to property or injury or death to people ความรุนแรง

injured – hurt in an accident or attack ซึ่งได้รับบาดเจ็บ

device – a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ เครื่องจักร

breach – a gap; a break through or over something ช่องว่าง, รอยแตกdispute – a serious disagreement ข้อโต้แย้ง

debris – the broken pieces that are left when something large has been destroyed ซากปรักหักพัง

brick – baked clay used for building walls, houses and other buildings อิฐ

attached – fasten or joined together ติดกัน, ต่อ, ยึดติด

gap – a space or opening in the middle of something or between things ช่องว่าง

incident – something that happens, usually something bad เหตุการณ์

aim – to have as your purpose or goal มีเป้าหมาย มีจุดมุ่งหมาย 

stir up – to make someone feel upset or angry ก่อให้เกิดความขุ่นใจ

confrontation – a situation in which people or groups are arguing angrily or are fighting การเผชิญหน้า

riot police – police who are trained to deal with violent groups of people ตำรวจปราบจราจล

waders – long rubber boots that reach up to your thigh, that you wear for standing in water รองเท้าบูทใส่กันน้ำ

stretch – a continuous area of land or water

metropolitan police – the police in responsible for a city ตำรวจนครบาล

deploy – (of police or soldiers) to put in place ready for action ส่ง (ทหารตำรวจ) ประจำการ

security – protection; systems providing for safety from attack, harm, or damage ระบบรักษาความปลอดภัย

beef up – to strengthen เสริมกำลัง

deputy – a person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organization รอง

level – the amount of liquid that there is in a container, river, dam, etc., which can be seen by how high the liquid is ระดับ

rapidly – happening quickly อย่างรวดเร็ว

block – to stop someone/ something from moving through or along something else ปิดกั้น, กีดขวาง

weir – a low wall or barrier built across a river in order to control the flow of water or change its direction เขื่อนเล็กๆ, ทำนบ

sluice gate – a gate that can be opened or closed to control the flow water along a passage ประตูน้ำปิดเปิดบังคับการไหลของน้ำในคลอง

compensation – money that someone receives because something bad has happened to them เงินชดเชย

drainage – the process of taking away of water or other liquids from an area การระบายน้ำ

sewer – an underground pipe or passage that carries sewage (liquid waste) ท่อน้ำเสีย, ท่อระบายน้ำ

negotiate – to try to reach an agreement by discussing something in a formal way เจรจาต่อรอง

bow to – to agree to do what someone wants you to do even though you do not want to ยอมทำตาม

prompt – to cause someone to take action กระตุ้น

fierce – very strong รุนแรง, ดุเดือด

protest – a meeting or rally, sometimes forceful or violent, of people who strongly disagree with something ชุมนุมประท้วง

downstream – in the direction that a river or stream is flowing ตามกระแสน้ำ

industrial estate – an area of land where industrial companies have their buildings นิคมอุตสาหกรรม

academic – someone who teaches at a college, or who studies as part of their job นักวิชาการ

Flood Relief Operations Centre (Froc) – the government's centre for assisting flood victims ศูนย์ปฎิบัติการช่วยเหลือผู้ประสบอุทกภัย(ศปภ)

amusement park – a large park which has a lot of things that you can ride and play on and many different activities to enjoy สวนสนุก