AYUTTHAYA : Residents in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi organised another protest yesterday against what they claim is unfair distribution of flood compensation payments.
Catching a lift
A helicopter performs a patient airlift during a flood emergency drill in Ayutthaya province. The drill was presided over by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who kicked off her four-day flood prevention inspection trip yesterday. APICHART JINAKUL
About 1,000 residents gathered in front of Bang Bua Thong municipal office to demand that authorities stop unequal amounts from being doled out to victims without clear criteria for determining what the compensation package should be.
They submitted a four-point list of demands, including a flat rate flood rehabilitation payment of 20,000 baht per household.
Protesters have threatened to block a road if problems are not solved.
This was the second time the residents in the district gathered to protest against flood compensation distributions.
The first time was on Saturday.
Dej Inkhasit, Bang Bua Thong municipality clerk, yesterday responded to revelations that a member of the municipality was issued a cheque worth 85,000 baht, saying that it was a printing mistake.
He said the person in question was eligible to receive 8,500 baht only.
Mr Dej said residents who were not happy with payments were encouraged to file fresh complaints.
Some of them might have failed to include certain damages the first time. However, he noted that most residents of Bang Bua Thong suffered no structural damage from the floods.
"Our authorities inspected the damage and found no structural damage to the houses," he said.
Mr Dej said 91 million baht was allocated for compensation payments to flood victims in Bang Bua Thong.
Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit yesterday urged disgruntled residents to think twice before blocking a road as part of their protest.
He said the guilty verdict against three men who led a road blockade in Pathum Thani should deter them from breaking the law.
Mr Yongyuth insisted residents were eligible to file complaints about unfair payments, but said they did not need to break the law to register their discontent.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised to look into the allegations of unfair compensation payouts.
She inspected Chulalongkorn sluice gate and flood prevention projects in Pathum Thani yesterday.
About 100 residents from tambon Suan Prik Thai in the province's Muang district petitioned the prime minister, asking for equal compensation payments of 20,000 baht.
They said some people in their area had received 40,000 baht as compensation while others were paid only a few thousand baht.
Despite the complaints, Ms Yingluck was warmly received by many residents and market vendors during her trip to Pathum Thani.
Later in the day, the prime minister and her delegation visited Wat Phorling in Sena district of Ayutthaya to watch an evacuation drill to see how people in the area will be evacuated in case of flooding.
Somsong Sappakosolkul, mayor of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya municipality, said he was confident the government could handle flooding this year because it had developed a clear-cut flood prevention policy.
He urged the government to approve two flood prevention projects, costing 2 billion baht, for the municipality to build floodwalls in at-risk areas.
Ms Yingluck asked the army to help Saha Rattananakhon Industrial Estate build a dyke as the estate in Ayutthaya, badly hit by last year's flooding crisis, has yet to start construction on the barrier.
The prime minister yesterday led her delegation to visit Rojana Industrial Estate in Ayutthaya province's Uthai district for a briefing on the progress of dyke construction at six industrial estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, which were badly damaged last year.
The industrial estates are Saha Rattananakhon, Hi-Tech, Bang Pi-in, Rojana, Navanakorn and Bang Kadi.
Ms Yingluck has asked the 13th Army Circle to help Saha Rattananakhon so that construction of the dyke will be finished by August.
She also directed the Transport Ministry to accelerate the elevation of roads in municipal areas in Ayutthaya as she wants the work to be completed by August.
In Sukhothai, several areas in Muang district were flooded due to overflow from the Yom River.
Residents and monks in four villages in tambon Pak Khwae yesterday built a floodwall of sandbags to prevent overflow from the Yom River from flooding about 3,000 houses.
Bandit Inta, director of an irrigation project in Phitsanulok, yesterday said Bang Rakam district was expected to be flooded in the next two days as runoff from the North would flow to the lower part of the Yom River before entering the district. PM's Office Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan told Bang Rakam residents to brace for flooding as several flood prevention projects in the district have not yet been completed.