BANGKOK, 11 June 2015 – The Minister of Interior, the Royal Thai Police assistant commander and the Bangkok governor convened a special meeting yesterday to discuss traffic alleviation and flood prevention plans.
During the meeting, Interior Minister Gen Anupong Paochinda suggested that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) urgently eradicate trash problems, dispatch traffic police and military personnel to 300 junctions in the event of rain to facilitate traffic, and arrange mobile teams of technical students to deal with mechanical breakdowns.
Gen Anupong commented that special attention should be given to flood-prone areas. In the event that rain falls during the nighttime, Metropolitan police should be on standby at these areas to facilitate the drainage so as to prevent traffic congestion in the morning.
The discussion was held after the rainfall which caused heavy flooding earlier this week. Traffic in the capital city was brought to a standstill. Garbage problems were blamed for the inundation. The incident prompted the BMA to consider installing more CCTVs across Bangkok to enforce cleanliness laws more efficiently.
Gen Anupong however voiced his confidence that the flood and traffic problems would be under control when the BMA’s drainage system was completed. Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paripatra, meanwhile, confirmed that the BMA’s ongoing flood tunnel project was on the right track, adding that the BMA would seek a budget of 20 billion baht for its flood solution project for Bangkok and nearby provinces.
