PM visits reservoir project in Hat Yai during mobile Cabinet meeting

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his Cabinet ministers visited a small reservoir this morning, in a suburb of Hat Yai district, to follow up on Hat Yai City’s plan to expand the reservoir to hold up to 1.3 million cubic metres of water, up from 500,000 cubic metres.

In his briefing to the prime minister, Hat Yai Mayor Narongporn Na Phatthalung outlined the city’s plan to expand the capacity of the water retention area in Khor Hong sub-district, to dredge canals in the district and to procure additional water pumps as part of the flood prevention master plan.

In addition to flood prevention, he said that the reservoir will also serve as a source of water during the dry season.

To implement the plan, he said that the city needs financial support from the government on top of city’s available budget.

Hat Yai was hit by the worst floods in several decades in November last year. At least 145 people are confirmed to have died, while property damage has been estimated at about 25 billion baht by the Kasikorn Research Centre.

Meanwhile in Thoen district of the northern province of Lampang, the Nong Sub Fak reservoir in Mae Wa sub-district has mostly dried up, leaving many farmers and residents short of water for consumption and cultivation.

Local officials explain that the reservoir usually receives water from Mae Wa National Park but, this year, rainfall has been substantially lower and drought arrived prematurely, resulting in just a trickle of water flowing from the park.

Villagers have complained that the drought is the worst for seven years, adding that even, even though the area is in the middle of the rainy season, two villages are experiencing water shortages.

There are eight villages in Mae Wa sub-district and there is no big reservoir. Officials said that the land in the sub-district is mostly sandy and, when there is heavy rainfall, it does not hold water for a long time.