PROTESTS HAVE erupted in parts of deluged Bangkok as city residents attempt to exert pressure on the government to accelerate the process of draining the floodwater.
While life proceeds as normal in many parts of the city, entire districts in the north and west of the Thai capital are submerged after the worst floods in 50 years. Sandbag dykes remain in place in many locations. People are weary from weeks of heavy flooding that has killed 610.
A furious debate rages about how to drain the floodwater and a policy that ensures some areas remain flooded to keep the city centre clear has proven controversial.
The government has focused on protecting the capital by diverting the slow-moving pool of water around Bangkok, which sits at the southern tip of a river basin that empties into the Gulf of Thailand.
Residents in the Pathum Thani district, many of whom have been waist-deep in water for a month, clashed with motorists in a blockade of the Din Daeng-Don Muang toll road expressway.
The residents are calling for the government flood task force to speed up drainage. The protests led to major traffic congestion on the busy motorway. Drivers tried to negotiate with the protesters, but shortly afterwards there were clashes between motorists and residents and police were forced to intervene.
At the same time hundreds of residents in the Sai Mai and Don Muang districts dismantled a large dyke on a key traffic intersection.
Engineers said that removing the dyke would slow drainage works, causing more hardship.
“Even though the city’s drainage system is working efficiently, the removal of the flood wall could slow down the drainage,” deputy city clerk Chumphol Sampaopol told the Bangkok Post newspaper. He said water levels could rise by one or two centimetres in areas where the dyke had been dismantled.
Elsewhere, about 100 flooded residents of Thawi Watthana and Bang Khae districts blocked roads to protest against the opening of sluice gates in their area.
The floods are a test for prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government as there has been criticism that she lacks the necessary experience to deal with the crisis.
“Residents in flooded areas are suffering,” the prime minister said this week, before seeking the co-operation of the people of Bangkok.