AYUTTHAYA: Thirty specialised truck-mounted pumps will be sent to this central province to help drain floodwater from seven <i>kaem ling</i> (monkey cheek) water retention areas so farmers can get back to planting crops.
Deputy governor Rewat Prasong said on Tuesday a provincial-level flood tackling panel recently agreed to ask all agencies involved to urgently help force water out of the seven water retention areas to the sea, now that the levels of the Chao Phraya and Noi rivers were constantly receding.
In addition, the Chao Phraya River dam had stopped discharging water, Mr Rewat said.
The panel, chaired by Ayutthaya governor Sujin Chaichumsak, agreed that floodwater must be drained from water retention areas covering 600,000 rai so farmers could start planting their first off-season rice crop from Dec 15.
The seven water retention areas have held back a huge volume of northern runoff flowing into the Chao Phraya dam reservoir.
Chayaphol Thitisak, director-general of the Department of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, on Tuesday signed an order to deploy 30 specialised truck-mounted pumps from branch offices of the department in all regions to help drain Ayutthaya’s monkey cheeks, in response to the request.