The dispute over the Klong Sam Wa sluice gate continues between the Pheu Thai government, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and residents near the canal.
In a tense few nights, a group of angry protestors had been gathering at the Klong Sam Wa sluice gate demanding that it be opened wider, MCOT reported. They seemed to have successfully lobbied the government to open a sluice gate wider and potentially relieve flooding at their homes, as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra gave the order to raise the gate from .8 meters to one meter yesterday Oct. 31.
There is some confusion in reports as to whether Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand, who controls the sluice gates, will comply as he says he must be ordered in writing before he can do anything, the Nation reported.
This morning deputy governor Thirachon Manopaipibul said that all of Bangkok could be flooded if the sluice gate is opened wider, according to another story in the Nation.
The worry now is that Bang Chan Industrial Estate in Bangkok’s Minburi district could be at a higher risk of flooding if the sluice gate is opened wider. Bang Chan is one of the last industrial parks in Thailand that hasn’t been flooded and it houses THB200 billion in investment.
Roughly 1,000 people assembled at the Klong Sam Wa sluice gate Sunday night asking the government to open it more, the Bangkok Post reported. Later in the night, a group of residents tried to destroy the dyke but were pacified when local officials said they would open it to .8 meters. Then yesterday Oct. 31, a crowd returned and demanded the gate be opening to 1.5 meters.
It is unclear from reports what level the sluicegate is at currently.
