The 1.5 -billion-baht restoration of flood-hit historical sites around the country will take two years to complete, says the Culture Ministry's Department of Fine Arts.
Anek Sihamat, deputy director-general of the department, said 313 historical sites were damaged by the flooding, 130 of them in Ayutthaya. The rest are in Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Bangkok each with about 20 ancient sites.
Mr Anek said he hoped that it would take two months to clean up the historical sites in Ayutthaya. He said a cleanup is the first step in the restoration process.
"[Of the total budget],we expect to spend roughly 600 million baht to restore and rehabilitate ancient sites," he said. "The biggest challenge for us is how to make these centuries-old-buildings resistant to flood damage.
"We don't know how to set up floodwater barriers around those ancient buildings. But we need to strengthen their structure so they can remain in water longer with less damage."
Mr Anek said the department is working with Japanese experts to hammer out measures to protect ancient sites from flooding and minimise damage.
In related news, Supot Prommanot, director of the department's third regional office, and who oversees historical sites in Ayutthaya and other central provinces, said his office will start fixing and restoring
Wat Phra Sri Sanphet and Wat Mongkol Borpit as they are the most popular tourist attractions in Ayutthaya.
As for Wat Chaiwatthanaram, also popular among tourists, Mr Supot said the temple remains under two meters of water and the temple office is trying to drain water as quickly as possible so it can reopen for tourists.
Mr Supoj said the best way to ensure minimal damage is not to hasten the drainage, but to let the site dry naturally so that the the buildings do not become imbalanced.
"Some people think that the buildings might collapse if they remain under water for so long," he said.
"But in fact only the building surface is destroyed by moisture from water
No comments:
Post a Comment