PM Prayut visits Ubon Ratchathani province to see floods, dam
Continuing his tour of the provinces of Thailand affected by heavy rains and flooding, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is visiting the Northeastern province on Ubon Ratchathani today to survey the water and flood management situation.
The prime minister is visiting along with several other ministers including Minister of Energy Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Minister of Interior Anupong Paochinda, and Minister of Digital Economy and Society Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn.
The group of ministers met with villagers and community development volunteers who were all working on renewable energy projects and a farming initiative called the Khok Nong Na farming model. They had a noon visit scheduled to Sirindhorn Hydropower Dam to look at the water management facilities there as well.
Sirindhorn Dam is a hub of sustainable energy as it hosts the world’s largest hybrid power generation facility, with floating solar panels combining solar and hydro electric power generation. They will be briefed on the water management system there and in the province before meeting with flood victims at Pracha Warin pavilion at the end of their inspection.
A family in the rural farmlands of Ubon had been walking 100 kilometres to try to meet with PM Prayut and request assistance after co-signing for a friend’s tractor that was defaulted on, prompting their home and farm to be seized and the family to gain notoriety for their desperate attempt to raise the 860,000 baht owed by attempting to sell their eyes and kidneys. Local Thai organisations reported that the family has received some sort of response or assistance from the governor of Ubon Ratchathani.
Previous visits on his trip included a stop in Nonthaburi where he was met with protestors shouting and throwing fermented fish at PM Prayut’s motorcade and a stop on Chaiyaphum where police chided protestors as an embarrassment to the province as they shouted insults at the prime minister. These hostile greetings prompted authorities in Nakhon Si Thammarat to issue an official code of conduct ahead of a visit from PM Prayut, warning residents not to throw rotten eggs at the prime minister.
SOURCE: MCOT
