Cabinet to hold teleconference with flood-affected areas

BANGKOK, December 10 (TNA) - The cabinet of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will hold a special teleconference with governors whose provinces are still inundated next Monday. Speaking during her weekly televised address on Saturday, Miss Yingluck said next week’s meeting will aim at speeding up work to resolve the crisis in affected provinces before the year-end. Flooding in Bangkok meanwhile, has eased considerably, despite flood water in several neighbouring provinces of Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Nakhon Pathom, she said. Miss Yingluck added that flood water in the central and lower northern regions will be reserved for agricultural use during the upcoming dry season. She gave reference to an emerging dry spell in the upper north and northeast, including water shortages in some non-irrigated areas. Premier Yingluck earlier on Saturday travelled to the King Rama VII Monument, in front of the Parliament House, to lay a wreathe on the occasion of the Constitution Day. When asked to clarify on a possible cabinet reshuffle, in which ministers under the Chart Thai Pattana Party would be left out from the coalition, Miss Yingluck said the reports were untrue as the party still worked well with the government. She further said the government is now busy with post-flood rehabilitation and has a priority on solving people’s problems. (TNA)