Thai King to visit flood victims, launch royal irrigation projects

BANGKOK, July 7 (TNA) - His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej will, Saturday evening, visit people, by boat, in Nonthaburi, a province on the outskirts of Bangkok hardest-hit by massive flooding late last year, before presiding over a ceremony to inaugurate five royally-initiated irrigation projects, located in five provinces, at the head office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives' Royal Irrigation Department in the capital's Samsen area. Accompanied by members of the Royal Family, including Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, His Majesty the King is scheduled to leave Bangkok's riverside Siriraj Hospital, where the beloved Thai monarch has stayed for regaining his physical strength, at 4.30pm. The royal cruise for a distance of some 30 kilometres by the Angsana boat provided by the Royal Thai Navy will sail under the Pinklao, the Rama VIII, the Krung Thon, the Rama VI and the Rama VII Bridges, where traffic will be temporarily closed during the royal boat trip. Despite heightened security provided by some 200 police officers along the route, well-wishers are allowed to gather along the banks of the main Chao Phraya River to catch a glimpse of His Majesty the King and the other members of the Royal Family. After visiting people in the flood-affected Nonthaburi province, His Majesty the King will arrive at the Royal Irrigation Department's headquarters at around 6.45pm and will be briefed on the five royal irrigation projects by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and other authorities concerned, after which a multimedia presentation on the projects will be shown and governors of the provinces where the five newly-initiated irrigation projects are located will, through a video link, lead local authorities and people to pay their respects to the revered Thai monarch. His Majesty the King will then officially launch the five royal irrigation projects by placing his hand on the symbols of the five royal projects to mark their inaugurations, after which thousands of people in the five provinces will form a "Long Live the Royals" message to express their devotion to the beloved Thai monarch. His Majesty the King will later return to Siriraj Hospital, after the end of the ceremony. (TNA)