The capital city will never again be flooded if he is elected, the Pheu Thai Party's candidate for Bangkok governor Pongsapat Pongcharoen said on Friday.
His major rival, former governor Sukhumhand Paribatra of the Democrat Party, emphasised the flood drainage tunnels built during his just-ended term and progress being made on flood barriers and plans for new tunnels.
Both candidates campaigned in different areas of the city on Friday.
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MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, left, and Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen (File photos)
"Close cooperation with the government is the solution to Bangkok's flooding," Pol Gen Pongsapat said on his Facebook page on Friday.
Pol Gen Pongsapat, who campaigned at the Bang Bua Thong and Lak Si areas on Friday, said the city's drainage canals and tunnels have to be improved and enlarged, and they must be connected to canals in villages and communities to expedite the flow of water.
He said the giant tunnels built by rival candidate and former Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand have to be overhauled. They were built to drain water from the city into the Chao Phraya River.
"The lesson learned from the line between the government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in connection with the great flood in 2011 is that the best solution is to remove this line and get all sides to work together seamlessly," said Pol Gen Pongsapat, whose campaign slogan is "working with the government seamlessly".
MR Sukhumbhand said the construction of flood barriers in the Bangkok is almost complete and it should be finished before the end of this year.
"We will start using information systems to measure the water flow and the quantity of water in different areas, such as Tawee Wattana and Khun Sri canals in Thon Buri and the Phraya Suren and Sam Wa canals in Phra Nakhon," said the former governor, who campaigned in Jaransanitwong, Thon Buri district on Friday.
He said three more giant canals would be built to increase drainage efficiency. There would be more kaem ling (monkey cheeks) water retention areas in eastern Bangkok, he added.