Govt to spend B100bn on flood rehabilitation work

The government has earmarked 100 billion baht for the country's flood rehabilitation efforts, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says.

CASH LANDING: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrives at the provincial hall in Nakhon Sawan. She said her government has provided 182 million baht in cash aid to help flood victims there.

The first two provinces to benefit from the rehabilitation drive will be Phitsanulok and Nakhon Sawan.

Recovery work will also begin soon in Ayutthaya province.

The budget will be spent on repairing people's flooded homes and restoring the country's economy, Ms Yingluck said yesterday.

She said the flooding was caused by several tropical storms in September which led to the accumulation of massive amounts of water in the northern provinces.

Prime Minister Yingluck yesterday travelled to Nakhon Sawan to visit flood victims. She said the government has provided 182 million baht in cash aid to 36,500 families in Nakhon Sawan.

With tears in her eyes, the prime minister said she was concerned about people's well-being.

Ms Yingluck said the government's efforts in Nakhon Sawan will help restore confidence in her administration's ability to cope with the crisis.

"The work must be completed in 45 days because people have suffered for so long already," said Ms Yingluck.

The prime minister on Friday signed an order to appoint four committees to work on restoration and rehabilitation in the aftermath of the crisis.

The committee on assistance, rehabilitation and remedies will be chaired by Yongyuth Wichaidit, the deputy prime minister and interior minister; the committee on infrastructure will be chaired by Transport Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat.

The committee on economy, industry and wellbeing will be chaired by Kittiratt Na-Ranong, the deputy prime minister and commerce minister, and the committee on quality of life will be chaired by Pol Gen Kowit Wattana, also a deputy prime minister.

The committees will replace three rehabilitation committees appointed earlier on Oct 12.