Talks to settle Khlong Hok Wa barrier row

The Flood Relief Operations Command and City Hall will hold talks with residents from Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district today to solve a dispute over the Khlong Hok Wa flood barrier.

Offerings gladly accepted - A monk wades through floodwater during an alms round in Pathum Thani. PHONGTHAI WATTANAVANITVUT

The three-way talks follow the demolition of a 70-metre section of the sandbag wall by angry Lam Luk Ka residents on Thursday in a bid to drain floodwater from their area.

The breach caused floodwater to surge into areas in Bangkok's Sai Mai district.

The incident later turned violent when a small bomb was thrown at a group of Sai Mai residents while they were fixing the damaged sandbag barrier.

Deputy city clerk Sompob Rangabtook will represent the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in the talks with the Lam Luk Ka residents, which is scheduled for around midday at the Big C superstore near Khlong 4 canal today.

Mr Sompob said the BMA has asked the Lam Luk Ka residents to send six representatives to the talks.

To prevent a possible confrontation, other residents from Lam Luk Ka and those from Sai Mai were urged to stay away from where the talks are taking place.

The deputy city clerk said Lam Luk Ka residents had demanded the authorities lower the height of the 6km sandbag barrier to allow more water to flow from Lam Luk Ka towards Bangkok.

"As far as we know, the residents want to see the water levels in both Pathum Thani and Bangkok not exceed more than 40cm," Mr Sompob said.

See also: Nonthaburi residents demand sluice gates be opened

Lam Luk Ka residents also demanded that the Phraya Suren sluice gate be opened wider to speed up water flow from Pathum Thani into Saen Saeb canal.

Mr Sompob said the BMA had already complied with that demand by widening the sluice gate from 40cm to 1 metre.

Water levels in Khlong Saen Saeb and at the Bang Chan intersection were quite high yesterday probably due to the widening of the sluice gate.

Froc deputy spokesman Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen yesterday said police were investigating Thursday's explosion at Khlong Hok Wa.

Pol Gen Pongsapat said witnesses told the police that they saw a man, believed to be a Sai Mai resident, on a motorcycle ride onto the bridge and throw an object into the crowd which resulted in a small explosion. Police hope to identify the man soon, he said.

He said police would summon four people injured in the blast for further questioning and were urging anyone with information to contact police at Sai Mai Police Station.

He said 200 police officers from the Border Patrol Police and Metropolitan Police Division One were sent to the scene to control the situation and to prevent further violence.

Meanwhile, in Bangkok's Min Buri district, Wassana Phongpheng, a spokesperson for Samakkhi Khlong's Song Ton Nun residents, has warned people in her area are becoming increasingly angry at a lack of assistance from authorities.

She said her community is where floodwater from Khlong Sam Wa and Khlong Saen Saeb meets before flowing in Khlong Prawet.

She said around 270 households have had to put up with high floodwater for more than a month.

Authorities need to pay more attention to the plight of people in this area, Ms Wassana said. Residents will have no option but to take action to make their voices heard if authorities ignore them, she warned.

THREATENS TO DITCH FLOOD PLAN EFFORTS IF COOPERATION NOT FORTHCOMING

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has given the government an ultimatum to start cooperating or it will ditch the existing plans it has to tackle the city's floods.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday the BMA would come up with a new flood management plan if the Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) does not spell out by tomorrow how it will cooperate in tackling the floods.

The BMA asked the Froc to provide water pumps and speed up flood drainage operations a week ago, but it had not received any response, the governor said.

City Hall also asked Froc to instruct the Royal Irrigation Department to open its 20 sluice gates in Nong Chok district to speed up water drainage to Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao province, but only nine of 20 sluice gates had been opened.

"If the BMA doesn't get tangible support from the Froc within 48 hours, we will review our flood management plan," MR Sukhumbhand said. He did not elaborate.

Froc yesterday ordered additional pumps from Korea and Japan, and appealed to the private sector to donate pumps.

The Irrigation Department, on behalf of the government, denied it was refusing to cooperate. It said the BMA asked the wrong agency for the loan of pumps.

The growing dispute between the Froc and BMA came as the flood crisis worsened in several parts of Bangkok.

The governor said overflow from Vibhavadi Rangsit Road and Lat Phrao intersection was likely to reach Din Daeng, Saphan Kwai, and the Victory Monument within days since Bang Sue canal, which is an important water drainage route in the area, was swollen and could not take more water.

City Hall declared some parts of Din Daeng district as special surveillance areas. They are Rim Khlong Bang Sue community, Yu Charoen Housing Estate, Soi Inthamara 41 and Yu Charoen Housing Estate Phase 3.

Residents in those areas should move their belongings to higher ground and prepare for evacuation.

On Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, water on the road's inbound lanes in front of St John University was about 30cm.

The government was confident, however, that flooding in the northern part of the city would ease following the completion of the first six kilometres of the big-bag flood barrier on Saturday night.

Transport Minister ACM Sukumpol Suwanatat said Froc has completed the big bag barrier, made of thousands of giant sand bags, to the north of Bangkok. The barrier runs from Lak Hok, Chulalongkorn sluice gate, the area above Don Mueang airport, to Khlong Sam Wa. Each bag weighs 2.5 tonnes.

The barrier was intended to stop flooding from the North that has been moving into central Bangkok within seven days.

For Thon Buri, in the western part of Bangkok, the BMA has issued an evacuation alert for residents in Soi Charan Sanitwong 13 and Tha Phra subdistrict in Bangkok Yai district and four subdistricts in Phasi Charoen district.

The four subdistricts are Khlong Khwang, Bang Duan, Bang Waek and Bang Chak.

MR Sukhumbhand added the BMA has been considering declaring two more subdistricts_Khuha Sawan and Bang Wa _ in Phasi Charoen district as evacuation areas.

City Hall also requires the Froc's assistance in instructing the Royal Irrigation Department to help drain floodwater in Thon Buri into the Sanam Chai-Mahachai canal and the Tha Chin River as soon as possible, said the Bangkok governor.

Water levels between Bang Kae and the Tha Phra intersections are about 85cm on average.