Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is lukewarm to calls for special compensation to be paid to people on the outskirts of Bangkok who remain flooded to protect inner city areas.
Yesterday she wouldn't be drawn on a proposal from the Flood Relief Operation Command that the government pay 500-1,000 baht daily to compensate flood victims living within the flood barriers in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Nakhon Pathom provinces as well as some suburban areas of Bangkok.
"All areas are facing the same problem. I sympathies with them and I am trying to offer adequate assistance. As for rehabilitation in protracted flood areas, cabinet ministers have been assigned to help flood victims there and I am sure that the assistance through them will be adequate," Ms Yingluck said.
Asked if the government would raise compensation for each flooded family from 5,000 baht, Ms Yingluck declined to comment directly.
She said the government had many assistance measures in the pipeline to be implemented after the flooding has disappeared.
She added that the government would have to consider the situation carefully before deciding whether it could raise financial aid to individual flood victims.
At present, the government pays 5,000 baht in immediate compensation to each family and up to 30,000 baht for each house badly damaged by floodwater.
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit said the government had approved 1.25 billion baht for 25 provinces 50 million baht each to help flood victims including Bangkok and its outskirts .
Relief assistance would come in various forms such as food, garbage collection, and health care services, he said.
Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is considering diverting cash from City Hall's budget to pay additional compensation to residents whose homes are close to the big bag flood barrier.
He said they have suffered from deeper floods because of the barrier which was aimed at preventing floodwater from inundating inner Bangkok.
This compensation will be provided in addition to the standard assistance currently being offered by both the government and the BMA.
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