A senior official of the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) in Pathum Thani province has been transferred away from his regular duties following heavy flooding in his area of responsibility.
Bowdaeng Takaew, director of the Southern Rangsit Operation and Maintenance Project, has been moved to the office of the RID deputy director-general until further notice, the department said on Saturday.
While the order did not cite any specific reason for the transfer, there has been widespread speculation that it was due to the project’s failure to maintain water pumps at the Chulalongkorn sluice gate, leading to heavy flooding in Rangsit municipality.
The halt in rainfall has allowed the water level in the Rangsit Prayunsak canal to drop slightly to 1.8 metres, but patches of flooding remain in the area. Military personnel have been helping out with the local flood command centre, distributing sandbags to residents to protect their homes from flooding.
Many vehicles were seen parked along Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok road leading up to the Don Muang Tollway by residents concerned about further inundation.
Pol Capt Trelup Toopgrajank, the Rangsit municipal mayor, reported that as of Saturday, about 60% of the municipality remained inundated but water pumps were able to ease the situation.
He called on the RID to expedite drainage of main waterways to assist in the effort.
The mayor acknowledged that by taking on water from the east, Rangsit had been unable to handle recent heavy rainfall. A total of 55 water pumps have been deployed to remedy the flooding and more have been requested.
- Commentary: Time for a flood remedy
