PM Upcountry to Follow Up on Anti-flood Plans

Ten governors from the northern provinces are ready to present their flood prevention plans to the prime minister when she visits Uttaradit and Phitsanulok provinces today.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra traveled by plane and landed at an Army air base in Muang District of Phitsanulok Province this afternoon.

Local civil servants, state officials, and members of the Phitsanulok red-shirt group welcomed the premier.
Yingluck then boarded the Region 3 Army's Blackhawk helicopter to travel to Uttaradit Province to follow up on the flood prevention measures at Sirikit Dam.

State officials, civil servants, and locals were also present to welcome the PM at the dam. She returns to Phitsanulok to spend the night there.

Earlier today, relevant agencies prepared to welcome the prime minister at the Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit Province as she checks on flood prevention measures in the area.

Police officers tightened security and imposed traffic plans to prevent chaos because more than 2,000 locals from nine districts planned a gathering to welcome the premier.

Irrigation Department Director General Chalit Damrongsak said water management plans would be presented to the premier.
The Sirikit Dam will be discharging water again on May 1 to support farmers during summer and to free up space to take in water during the rainy season.

At the Phitsanulok City Hall, ten governors from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Sukothai, Uttaradit, Tak, Nan, Prae, Lampang, and Lampoon, along with representatives from related agencies and the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management met with the PM to discuss water management solutions.

The Prae governor proposed the construction of the Kaeng Sua Ten Dam to manage water from the Yom River which originates in the province.

Meanwhile, Pichit Governor Suwit Watcharotayangkul, along with some Pheu Thai MPs, led relevant agencies to inspect Bung Srifai Reservoir in Muang District to prepare water management plans to propose to the PM and the water management panels.

The main plans include the preparation of 36,000 rai of land as a water retention basin and deepening the reservoir by around eight to ten meters which is likely to cost over one billion baht.

Provincial authorities believed that if the plans are implemented, it will help prevent water from overflowing into the Central region.