Bangkokians still not fully confident
The Nation on Sunday
Bangkok: -- Poll reveals mixed level of faith that govt can handle flood
Most Bangkokians are not fully confident about the Yingluck administration's measures to contain possible flooding, a recent poll has found. Dusit poll stated, however, that majority of respondents in the west of Bangkok were satisfied by the government's recent water drainage drill.
More than a third - 38 per cent - of respondents said they were rather satisfied with the flood-prevention measures but 29.5 per cent said they were not really satisfied, because other areas may be affected by flooding if it rained heavily.
Some 20 per cent said they thought the government was competent enough to handle a possible flood while 11 per cent said they thought the money being spent on flood prevention was unnecessary and wasteful, and that more should be done in other areas, not just Bangkok.
Asked if the recent release of water in a drill in the west of the capital had increased confidence in the government's ability to prevent floods, 32 per cent of respondents said they were not really confident. Another 30 per cent said they were rather confident - because they believe there won't be much rain this year and there was likely to be better cooperation.
About 23 per cent believed the government will be able to handle things this year, however, as they appeared to have learnt some lessons from the last flood, such as unclogging canals and wastewater. Fifteen per cent said they had no confidence because no experts had made any guarantee.
Meanwhile, Ayutthaya deputy governor Nathawee Narissirikul reported that industrial operators were confident that four industrial estates could handle a flood, as their prevention works had progressed past 85 per cent of what needed to be done, except the Saha Rattana Nakorn estate in Nakhon Luang district.
The four estates' floodwalls were two metres higher than the flood level last year, while each site was also equipped with earth dikes and water pumps, he said. Construction of the Saha Rattana Nakorn floodwall, however, had been slow and obstructed by rainfall. So, if a flood occurred, it might not be able to protect factories so some operators had moved elsewhere, he said.
Royol Chitradon, director of the Hydro and Agro-Informatics Institute which is under the Science Ministry, said a system to handle possible flooding was already in place.
Yesterday, the government deferred another drill to let water from the north flow down through the capital after a spell of heavy rain over the past few days.
Pheu Thai spokesperson Jirayu Huangsab also urged the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to assure that water drainage tunnels were in working order.
-- The Nation 2012-09-09
