Although recent rainfall has improved the kingdom’s drought situation, Thailand must push forward with a new dam project, an official said yesterday.
Water levels have been rising in dams throughout the kingdom due to weeks of heavy rain, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said, while urging the military government to invoke its absolute power to revive a dam project in western Thailand.
The Mae Wong Dam project, which was shelved after opponents filed suit against the former government in 2012, must go ahead, he said in a state media report.
Opponents of the project state sued over the dam because it would destroy around 17.6sqm of forest and animal habitat in the Mae Wong National Park in Nakhon Sawan province.
Meanwhile, Anupong said officials will continue aid farmers who have suffered due to the drought crisis. More water will be distributed to dying rice fields in Chainat and Suphan Buri provinces.
TOP: Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat province. Photo: Thai PBS
