Last week Bangkok was badly hit by floods that brought back the haunting memories of the big floods of 2011. Despite assurances by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha that a flood on the scale of that of 2011 would not occur again, I felt we are not really safe.
The prime minister's words might be a wishful thinking. The PM even repeated the infamous lines from ex-Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, whom he booted out of office, that those who cannot bear the idea of living with floods should consider leaving the capital city.
The reaction of the city administration is so nonchalant. As usual, city administrators blamed nature, claiming last week's downpour was "the heaviest rain in three decades". Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang pointed out the city's drains are too small, and early this week ordered city officials to survey the 6,000-km of pipes in the city to locate which of them need to be ungraded. Mr Governor, isn't the city supposed to do that before the rainy season?
Anchalee Kongrut writes about the environment in the Life section, Bangkok Post.
It's true the existing underground water draining facilities in Bangkok are insufficient to deal with massive inundation. Yet I wonder if the city's plan to solve Bangkok floods by relying on engineering solutions will save us from being swamped. In my opinion, the problem of Bangkok goes beyond the drainage system. The larger problem is that the natural environment that used to help us deal better with floods has disappeared in the wake of extensive urbanisation.
Mind you, Mr Governor, we have had such heavy rains before. Yet the original ecosystem of Bangkok, which is part of a low-lying alluvial plain, was able to cope with floods as it drained the excessive water naturally. Now many of those areas, with porous earth that absorbs floodwater, have been replaced with concrete surfaces and it's difficult to drain them. Fruit and vegetable plantations that needed water are gone while housing estates, condominiums, and networks of roads keep expanding.
Another emerging problem is the increasing amount of garbage that clogs canals and the water drainage system. Last weekend, we were shocked to see a massive amount of garbage floating up from a manhole on Sukhumvit Road in the central business district.
During the 2015 flood, garbage totalling 10 tonnes crippled the city's flood draining facilities. And there were many kinds of rubbish, from foam packaging, plastic bags, sofas, to mattresses and even a giant earth-ware jar. The garbage reportedly damaged one out of the 10 turbines of the city's major water draining system. At this point, I think upgrading infrastructure, a costly project, may not improve the situation if we fail to deal with garbage that will eventually flow and clog those drainage channels.
For me, Bangkok needs comprehensive measures to cope with floods -- steps that go beyond engineering solutions. The city should put in place town plan and construction regulations to require developers to build more green space or even retention ponds to deal with floods.
In fact, the city administration has a large, wonderful natural flood-retention pond, known as Rama IX, in the middle of the city, an initiative of the late King Bhumibol. The late King encouraged the use of nature, natural ponds and natural canals, to deal with floods.
It is about time the city honours our beloved King Bhumibol by creating more natural ecology such as green areas or even retention waterways. It should solicit help from public and private developers to ensure the city has more natural ecology.
For garbage, I believe the solution is not to hire more garbage collectors or buying more garbage trucks. It is about time the government or even the city administration thought of efficient ways to decrease the waste. One of the measures is a packaging tax that forces consumers to pay for packaging waste they purchase.
Did you know that a packaging tax bill was has been shelved for 20 years already? Last but not least, it is about time for the city streamlined the garbage collection system to make it more efficient. It should raise garbage collection fees and, on top of that, reinstate the garbage reduction campaign initiated by previous governors.
Maj Gen Chamlong Srimuang and Bhichit Rattakul launched such campaigns to keep the city clean. Perhaps, it is about time Governor Aswin used his policing skills to ensure efficiency in the area of waste management. Without these measures, Bangkok might only have a fancy engineering facility -- larger drains, stuffed with garbage, and massive deluges.