Bangkok Today Columnistphya Mai | Bangkok Post: opinion

InMedia

The Yingluck government has admitted it will be impossible to prevent flooding this year if the country is again hit by several tropical storms. But it can lessen the severity by storing excess floodwater in 2 million rai of lowlying land to be bought from farmers and house owners in the Central Plains and outer areas of Bangkok.

About 10 billion baht will be paid to those who lose their land and homes. This amount will be borrowed from foreign sources, adding to the country's debt burden. But it is a worthwhile endeavour. Foreign business operators and investors may move elsewhere if the government fails to put an efficient flood prevention plan in place.

However, I do not understand why state agencies concerned have not begun dredging the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, or the canals in and around Bangkok. The government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration must also deal with settlers who have encroached on the Chao Phraya and connecting canals which are supposed to drain floodwaters into the sea. Large plots of land along these canals will have to be reclaimed, and I am not sure whether the government and the BMA have enough time to negotiate with these illegal settlers.